Beijing's old book market revived by new wave of collectors

Shared history

Baoguo Temple Old Book Market shares its history with the rise of Beijing as a city. After Emperor Shunzhi, the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty to enter Beijing, designated Beijing as the capital, the city's southern region became a hub where ethnic Han officials, scholars, and imperial examination candidates gathered.

One of the few pastimes for the examination candidates was strolling through the Baoguo Temple market, where many books that were useful to them were available.

The book market's popularity faded in the late Qing Dynasty when the imperial examination system was abolished.

Since the market reopened at the end of 2023, it has experienced a resurgence in popularity, attracting readers and booksellers from across the city. During a book festival in March last year, the market, which has 300 booths, drew 10,000 visitors at weekends.

The books offered at the market range from literary masterpieces, to historical classics, natural science, and geography texts. If they are in very good condition, or the copies are old and rare, some can demand prices up to 2,000 yuan ($280).

Liu said a large number of the old books he collects are rich in information and serve as resource materials.

He has built up a personal reference library and is able to look up details when he needs information on a place he plans to visit, write an article, or simply improve his knowledge to be better informed when he engages in conversation.

Compared with unverified online material, published books provide a dependable source of information because they've been edited and vetted, he said.

When people ask him whether he's read every book in his "impressive" collection, he simply answers that every book should be read to get its full value. Much of his book-hunting is random and not pre-planned, he said.

"It's more about what I happen to come across," said Liu, who has been browsing Beijing's book markets for 20 years.

"Sometimes, an old book fair can offer a lot of pleasant surprises. There are many instances where I didn't know a certain book existed beforehand. But then I'd see it in an old book market and discover that a writer, a poet, or a novelist had actually written a book on that topic."