CHINA, BEIJING, LOCAL NEWS: Spring Book Market Opens up at Ditan Park
by Li Mu
Friday, Ditan Park, or Temple of Earth, embraces another spring book market, which lasts eleven days. With hundreds of thousands of books brought together by thousands of book stalls, the event is the biggest of its kind in Beijing, featuring lectures, book-signings, educational consultations, and a string of folk entertainment such as yangge, a popular rural folk dance.
The spring book market is the first book event in Ditan Park in 2006. The park usually holds four book markets in each season, but starting last year, the winter book markets are held at Workers' Gymnasium.
The books at the market range from newly published magazines to decades-old used books, all sold at discounts. Book lovers can pick out books from almost every major press in China at cheapest prices possible. Newly-published books are usually sold with 20 percent off, and older books, mostly classic novels and academic books, can be 50 percent off or even be sold below 10 yuan. Prices of used books are even lower: with ten yuan, people can get a heavy bunch home.
"The magazines sold here, especially those related to computer software, are definitely attractive to me." says Zhao, a veteran book buyer at Ditan Park, "I can get newly printed magazines with one or two yuan. That's definitely worth it."
He suggests that the best time for picking out books at Ditan book market is a few days after the open-up. "The first few days are usually crowded and the prices have not come down. But if you go at the last two days, a lot of good ones are sold out. So the best time is in the middle. The more inside you go, the more likely you are going to get good cheap books."
Aside from books, all sorts of sundries including CDs, tapes, and stationary are also sold at the book market, attracting a lot of non-book buyers while making some book lovers feel disturbing. "It wasn't like this ten years ago, when all sold here are books. Now you have Bonsais, clothes, and even vegetables. A lot of children are coming here for video games discs. Where is the place for book lovers?" Wang, another veteran complains. However, many others find that this increased the appeal of the book market.
"Usually weeks before open-up, I would be searching for related information about the book market. And I usually come back with a lot of other findings." Zhao says.
Friday, Ditan Park, or Temple of Earth, embraces another spring book market, which lasts eleven days. With hundreds of thousands of books brought together by thousands of book stalls, the event is the biggest of its kind in Beijing, featuring lectures, book-signings, educational consultations, and a string of folk entertainment such as yangge, a popular rural folk dance.
The spring book market is the first book event in Ditan Park in 2006. The park usually holds four book markets in each season, but starting last year, the winter book markets are held at Workers' Gymnasium.
The books at the market range from newly published magazines to decades-old used books, all sold at discounts. Book lovers can pick out books from almost every major press in China at cheapest prices possible. Newly-published books are usually sold with 20 percent off, and older books, mostly classic novels and academic books, can be 50 percent off or even be sold below 10 yuan. Prices of used books are even lower: with ten yuan, people can get a heavy bunch home.
"The magazines sold here, especially those related to computer software, are definitely attractive to me." says Zhao, a veteran book buyer at Ditan Park, "I can get newly printed magazines with one or two yuan. That's definitely worth it."
He suggests that the best time for picking out books at Ditan book market is a few days after the open-up. "The first few days are usually crowded and the prices have not come down. But if you go at the last two days, a lot of good ones are sold out. So the best time is in the middle. The more inside you go, the more likely you are going to get good cheap books."
Aside from books, all sorts of sundries including CDs, tapes, and stationary are also sold at the book market, attracting a lot of non-book buyers while making some book lovers feel disturbing. "It wasn't like this ten years ago, when all sold here are books. Now you have Bonsais, clothes, and even vegetables. A lot of children are coming here for video games discs. Where is the place for book lovers?" Wang, another veteran complains. However, many others find that this increased the appeal of the book market.
"Usually weeks before open-up, I would be searching for related information about the book market. And I usually come back with a lot of other findings." Zhao says.
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