Jihe Bookstore, Sichuan province
成都几何书店
Address: 4 Wangping Binhe Road, Chenghua district, Chengdu city, Sichuan province
Opening hours: 10 am-10 pm
Tel: (86-28) 84736838
Located in a modern building in Chengdu city, Southwest China’s Sichuan province and converted from an old house, the three-storey Jihe Bookstore has a rustic interior style. It really does look like a manmade cave with industrial decoration.
Why worth visiting
A spiral staircase linking the three floors of the bookstore offers readers more inspiration and a space for photo ops. The staircase is surrounded by rustic cave walls. Holes pierce the walls to allow natural light to flow in from the building's windows. With the natural light matching perfectly that projected from the bookstore's lamps, visitors don’t have to worry about insufficient lighting while they climb up or downstairs. As they traverse the stairs they can also have a glimpse of readers immersed in their own world. To integrate the features of Chengdu, the Jihe Bookstore is appointed with antique tables, chairs, and benches, with the old furniture becoming an exhibit of the bookstore.
The bookstore boasts a collection of many second-hand books retained with notes and annotations by former readers, helping new readers to understand the content. It’s possible that people of different generations have different understandings of the same book!
In addition, there is a space for children in the bookstore, where they can not only read books but also learn how to make handicrafts under the guidance of staffers.
The Jihe Bookstore is home to oil paintings, plants, and pottery, leather and fabric art products. Readers can join in making cultural creative products on the third floor, including lipsticks, paintings, and knitting, and participate in the bookstore’s various regular cultural events.