In my childhood, I would dream of owning a bookstore. Every day, I dipped myself into the lines and words I enjoyed most. It seemed as if my breath had borne some ink aroma.

Now, I grow up. Whenever I stroll on the streets of Kunming, my attention will mostly go to the road-side bookstores. Hiding into the bustling city, I can spend a moment of inner peace.

Reading is an attitude toward life, representing a style of elegance.

In Kunming, quite a few bookstores are full of a “petty bourgeoisie” style, and you can enjoy your life to the fullest there. 

The Elephant Books 

Address: No.4-6, Wenhua Alley (downstairs of the 8090 supermarket)

The Elephant Books is located on the ground floor of a small courtyard in Wenhua Alley. Hiding in the busy city, the small bookstore really lives up to what its name suggests: “A semblance great, the shadow of a shade.” (Taken from Tao Te Ching)

In addition to selling books, coffee and stationery, the store also holds various reading parties, sales of signed books, and more.

Lifestyle

2nd Floor, Nanya Fengqing(South Asia Custom) Mall, No. 569, Dianchi Rd

This is a special bookstore where you can enjoy coffee, snacks, furniture, plants, and creative designs. The fineries and valuables the boss got from all over the world may delight you so much that you could hardly bear to put them down. 

The bookstore slows down your life. Here, you are free to pick up any book, find a corner, sit down, and enjoy reading. However noisy the outside is, you can still have a perfect day.

Momicafe

3rd Floor, Kunming Plaza, No. 928, Beijing Road

A bookstore warms up a city. Momicafe is a bookstore of “warmth and cuteness”. Apart from a large number of books, the store also houses many creative culture products with cats as the archetype.

Momicafe features a wall where you can put up or rather “send” a postcard on which you write down your dream in the future. In the era of “express delivery”, such action is calmer, warmer, and more serious.

World Books

Dadu Motian (metropolitan skyscraper) Mall, 50 meters south of the Caiyunbei Road and Er’ji Rd crossing 

The World Books bureau should be the largest bookstore in Kunming currently, with an alleged area of more than 5,000 square meters.

The bookstore features an overall tone of darkness. The decorative sculptures placed at the entrance and inside give rise to a sense of fashion and avant-garde.

Sisyphe

2nd Floor, Aiqinghai(Aegean Sea) shopping mall

The Sisyphe bookstore is a chain shop across China. The bookstore is named after Sisyphus or Sisyphos, the king of Ephyra in Greek mythology, to signal free choice, persistence and laborious task.

The store has a rich collection of books. Every month, the bestsellers are selected and placed at the entrance for readers. It also has an area dedicated to kids.

Mandarin Books

Sub-no. 8, No. 52, Wenhua Alley

Since its opening over a decade ago, the Mandarin Books store has been familiar to local folks in Kunming, and many are regular visitors. Rich in foreign languages books, this bookstore is favored by expats in Kunming.

The two-story shop sees books, magazines and newspapers on the first floor, with its second floor dedicated to the original editions of foreign-language books. The owner's collections are said to be locked in a chest somewhere in the store.

Commune Libe-ray

3rd floor, Nanya Fengqing New Mall, No. 569, Dianchi Road

The Commune Libe-ray bookstore was founded by a pair of post-1990 couple. They accompanied each other in pursuing their dream and finally made it come true.

Many interesting books can be read here. The bookstore also features “Da Wenqian”, a cute cat that is quite visible online.

Eraser Bookshop

Room 101, 1st Floor, No. 18, Cuihubei Road

The owner says she wants to make her store a book-based living spacee.

Many visitors found the bookstore is a reminder of their childhood of innocence. Kids from the nearby families are taken here to read books and draw pictures.

Wheatfield Bookstore

At the back gate of the Attached Primary School of Yunnan Normal University, Wenhua Alley, Wenlin Street

At a corner of Kunming’s Wenhua Alley lies the Wheatfield Bookstore, quietly. The bookstore is not spacious. It is hard for three or four people to move freely in it.

During the day, the boss Mr. Ma Li reads and tastes tea here, accompanied by a small sofa, a coffee table and a vinyl record set. At 6:00 pm, Ma closes the shop to join the band. He hardly thinks of expanding the business. Ma just wants the bookstore to exist till his life end. The shop is a quiet world of his own. 

No.51 Book Bar

No.51, Qianwang Street, Kunming

The No.51 Book Bar is so named because of its location.

The two-storey bookshop is small but has an extraordinary interior. The first floor is very close to Qianwang Street, while the second is wider. Looking out of the window, you’ll have a good view of the old roofs, serene and pleasant.

Xinhua Bookstore

No. 56, Nanping Street, Kunming

No matter how the days change, the veteran chain of Xinhua bookstores still holds a predominant position in the hearts of Chinese nationals.

After the renovation in 2015, the Kunming Xinhua Bookstore has a brand new look, stunning many book lovers. The bookstore impresses the readers with its high book shelves that almost touch the ceiling.

Feizi Book Bar

No. 10, Xunjin New Village, Xunjin Street

A girl called Feizi opened this shop that used to hide in Xunjin Street. Now the book bar has a new branch on the 4th floor of ME TOWN Mall.

In addition, anyone who bought book(s) here will be offered book covers free. The owner is a cheerful girl who loves desserts and life alike. She can make very delicious desserts.

Huasheng Bookstore

No. 21, 4th Floor, Tongde Plaza

In the name Huasheng, “Hua” is flower, while “sheng” means life. So it is a bookstore for a flowery life.

In addition to books, there are vinyl records, mini-exhibitions, paintings, handmade coffee, bakes, private collections, and so on.

C&F Bookstore 

1st Floor, No. C86 Camellia House, East Dongfeng Road

On March 1, 2018, Kunming opened another beautiful bookstore -- the C&F Bookstore that houses books on humanities and social sciences, as well as Chinese and English books for children.

Entering the bookstore, you will be impressed by the glass walls that allow  abundant sunshine to travel into the interior of the store during most of the day. Read at the 3000-square-meter bookstore, you will never be far away from the nature.