Take It As Read

Charging around trying to take in as much as humanly possible when traveling is all very well.But sometimes it also pays to take off the tourist hat，give the feet a rest fora few hours，and get busy with some books.It’s not just good for your soul，it’s good for your soles.Whilst Hangzhou is of course home to one of the top universities in China，the capital of Zhejiang Province also boasts an enviable array of libraries and bookstores，so it’s well worth penciling in some time to scout out the best ones.

The Zhongshuge-Hangzhou Bookstore is based in the Bin jiang area of the city.Nestled in the busy commercial district of Star Avenue，it is near the Qiantang River，famous for its tidal bore.This incredible space，designed by the architecture studio XL-Muse，is truly something to behold.For example，the first room，with its circular shelves makes clever use of mirrors to create a feeling of expansiveness while the impressive children’s pavilion provides a veritable playground for learning，with its roller-coaster bookshelf，galaxy map floor，and（static）merry-go-round.

Visiting Hangzhou and not being a Mandarin speaker doesn’t mean whiling away the hours perusing bookshelves is off limits for English-speaking tourists.In the Foreign Language Bookstore visitors will find three storeys of stories from traditiona classics to modern titles，in both Chinese and English.You might want to take some time here to pick up a few recipe books，a must for tourists hoping to take a little Hangzhou cuisine with them.While on the subject of sustenance，on the third floor，when the eyelids begin drooping or the pangs of hunger kick in，there is a cafe where coffee and cake can be found.

qingquang

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