Two More National Most Beautiful Bookstores Added in Changsha

Recently, the 33rd National Book Fair, themed "Bookish China: The Beauty of Reading," was held in Chongqing. At the Physical Bookstore Innovative Conference and Annual Most Beautiful Bookstore Announcement Event, two bookstores from Changsha – Xinhua Bookstore · Yue Malanshan and Benlangjia Linmusen Bookstore – were honored as "National Most Beautiful Bookstores," adding new brilliance to Changsha's cultural landscape.

To date, Changsha has seven bookstores that have earned the "National Most Beautiful Bookstore" title, ranking third nationwide behind Beijing and Shanghai.

Xinhua Bookstore · Yue Malanshan

Located in Malanshan Innovation Park, Xinhua Bookstore · Yue Malanshan is a multifunctional public cultural facility. It houses more than 2,000 titles and over 6,000 books, covering such fields as economics and management, Hunan culture, the beauty of art, and technological innovation, injecting strong cultural soft power into the park. As an "artistic gem" hidden within the park, a dedicated creative communication section showcases distinctive books such as "Master Shots" and "The Art of Film Storyboards." 

As a key part of Malanshan Innovation Park, the bookstore presents a multi-dimensional fusion of "hard tech" and "soft culture," vividly showcasing Malanshan's innovative practice of creating a gathering place for integrated application scenarios of culture and technology. It fully embodies the charm of "culture + technology" and has become a shared spiritual home for both enterprises and readers.

Benlangjia Linmusen Bookstore

Located by Meixi Lake, Benlangjia Linmusen Bookstore is a "real-life fairy tale" as described by children's literature author Tang Sulan. Drawing inspiration from stories such as Looking for Linmusen Bookstore and The Stories of Benlang, the bookstore features a hanging "Benlang's Home" wooden cabin model from the ceiling, cloud-shaped decorative lights, and animal-shaped bookshelves that complement each other. Tree-hole-style reading spaces transform children's experience from "reading from the outside" to "stepping into the fairy tale." 

The green grass carpet creates a "forest fairyland" scene, and the Linmusen Theater, resembling a standalone cabin in the woods, becomes a dedicated space for children to hold picture-book plays and handicraft classes. Wooden bookshelves and tree-shaped pillars create a warm atmosphere. This is not only a reading paradise gathering high-quality children's books from around the world, but also a spiritual retreat for adults to briefly escape the hustle and bustle – a gentle connection between fairy tales and reality.

At present, Changsha's seven "National Most Beautiful Bookstores" have formed a diverse cultural matrix. They include Lezhi Bookstore · Orange Isle Branch, Zhijian Bookstore, Liuyang Xinhua Bookstore Central Book Town, Taskin 24-Hour Bookstore, Xinhua Bookstore ·Chayan Yuese Co-branded Store, and the two newly added ones. Through innovative space design, new operational models, and deep cultural cultivation, they have not only become urban cultural landmarks but also vividly interpreted Changsha's cultural ecology and vibrant vitality as "a book-loving city."

Chinese source: Hunan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism