Librairie Avant-garde (Headquarters), Jiangsu province

Librairie Avant-garde (Headquarters), Jiangsu province
南京先锋书店 （五台山店）

Address: Underground Garage of Wutaishan Gymnasium, 173 Guangzhou Road, Gulou district, Nanjing city, Jiangsu province
Opening hours:
10 am-9 pm (Monday to Thursday)
10 am-10 pm (Friday)
9:30 am-10 pm (Saturday and Sunday)
Tel: (+86-25) 83711455

Established in 1996 and covering nearly 4,000 square meters, the Librairie Avant-garde (Headquarters) in Nanjing is a well-known private bookstore. It adopts a business model themed on a spate of services, including academic seminars, cultural salons, a cafe, exhibitions, DIY workshops and film and music shows, to provide a public platform for discussion and sharing.

The Librairie Avant-garde is a famous cultural calling card in Nanjing and is the biggest bookstore specialized in humanities and social sciences in Jiangsu province. It was honored as one of the most beautiful bookstores both in China and in the world, drawing many readers from home and abroad.

Why it’s worth visiting
Located in a garage, the bookstore boasts unique views and has an area reserved for second-hand books, creative and cultural products, a cafe, and salons.

The bookstore has a rich cultural atmosphere, in part created by portraits of world-renowned artists in the art gallery and on the bookstore ceiling, which may touch your heart, and in part by the quotes from classic poems printed on the pillars and the store’s soothing music .

All books of the Librairie Avant-garde are carefully selected by the bookstore owner. To create a free and comfortable environment for readers, there is also a leisure area that can hold hundreds of people.

The Librairie Avant-garde has cooperated with the local government, schools, communities, and scenic spots to hold annual cultural activities. In recent years, it has independently published over 10 books about Nanjing’s history and culture, folk customs, and food.