Eslite Corp (誠品), one of the largest retail bookstore chains in Taiwan, yesterday opened its first bookstore in China, in Suzhou.
At an opening ceremony attended by Eslite chairman Robert Wu (吳清友), vice chairwoman Mercy Wu (吳旻潔) and famous writers and artists, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre (雲門舞集) founder and artistic director Lin Hwai-min (林懷民) said that it is a kind of “Taiwanese miracle” that Eslite Bookstore still expands its operation despite years of losses in Taiwan.
Lin said he often goes to bookstores when he feels tired and in need of comfort.
Photo: CNA
Chinese artist Cai Guoqiang (蔡國強) also made an appearance at the opening ceremony. An artwork named Day and Night (晝夜), which Cai created in Taipei in 2009, is displayed in the bookstore.
Mercy Wu told reporters that books sold at Eslite’s bookstores in China would be different from those in Taiwan and that the company’s Chinese operation would not need to copy that of Taiwan.
The Suzhou store features 150,000 books, including 40,000 books with traditional Chinese characters and 100,000 printed in simplified Chinese characters, in addition to foreign-language books, according to Eslite Bookstore.
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