Second 24-hour bookstore opens in Beijing

A view of the bookstore. [Photo/chinanews.com]

The SDX Joint Publishing Company opened its second round-the-clock bookshop in Beijing on Apr 23.

Located in the university hub in Haidian district, the store takes up 906 square meters, targeting students and white–collar workers in the area.

"After our market research, we found that young people were generally more interested in buying books," said Zhang Zuozhen, general manger of SDX Join Publishing Company. "We have given the bookstore a modern look and the bar inside serves drinks."

Zhang also emphasized the importance of quality control when it comes to picking books. "Since our target readers are mostly well-educated, we refuse to put whatever is available on the market on our bookshelves. Books will be chosen based on our customers' tastes."

Book salons and some other cultural events will also be held in the next few months.

The company first launched the 24-hour bookstore near the National Art Museum of China in Beijing last year, drawing a lot of media attention, though some doubted its financial viability considering the booming business of e-books.