bookstores in Kunming

[volga_volga]

I'll be stopping over in Kunming for half day and have time to come to browse one or two bookstores. Can you suggest some big ones. I am interested in books on Wushu published in China (in Chinese) and maybe some Chinese language learning material too. Can you please put name and address in Chinese, so that I can quickly show it to the taxi driver. thanks!

[Xiao Kui]

2 bookstores in close proximity to each other . . .

Tsinghua University Press

You can tell the taxi driver [POP=yi1 er2 yi1 da4 jie1 shi1 da4 zheng4 men2]一二一大街师大正门[/POP]。 This is the main gate of Yunnan Normal University on 121 Main St. The bookstore is on the same side of the st. as the gate. If facing the gate, turn left, and keep walking down 121 Main St. and the bookstore is somewhere on that block before you get to the post office at the main intersection. The bookstore has 2 entrances. enter the right one (which has a bag check. As soon as you pass the bag check there is a room on your right which has a wall full of Chinese language study books. All the books in this store are 15% off the cover price. I think the store is called Tsinghua university press but I'm not sure if that's on the sign so I wouldn't worry abt that. i think books on wushu would probably be on the 3rd floor, but you can ask once you're there.

Mandarin Books

[POP=wen2 hua4 xiang4]文化巷 [/POP]

This little bookstore also has Chinese language study books, but they are full price. It is smaller and may be easier to navigate than Tsinghua. It is in the famous alley where a lot of foreign restaurants are located. Your taxi driver will probably just dump you at one end of the alley and you can wind your way through till you find Mandarin Books. They'll probably be a lot of foreigners and English speaking Chinese in that neighborhood so you can ask around once you get there. At least some staff speak English. Be nice to the manager though or she'll bite your head off - I'm not sure she likes her job!

[volga_volga]

wow, Xiao Kui, thank you so much for such detailed directions! I know Mandarin Books is a good store for foreigners but I find its wushu books are too basic, giving an overview but not much practical content (ie little basic training specific to each style, forms/tao lu etc).

That's why I am looking for books on wushu published in Chinese for the Chinese users. Would these two stores also have a good selection of them? Or I should be going to a Xinhua Bookstore (or some other one)?

I'd like to buy this book or something similar

长拳/国际武术竞赛套路

http://www.amazon.cn/detail/product.asp?prodid=zjbk236785&ref=SR&uid=168-6295681-3049810

which department of the bookstore would they keep it in? sports section 体育?

[volga_volga]

well in the end I asked the taxi driver to take me to a large bookstore and he dropped me off at Xinhua in the city centre and guess what - I found my book there

I'd like to thank you Xiao Kui again for the tip on Wen Hua Xiang where I went to after my bookshopping and had a great breakfast at one of the coffee shops

[Flagg]

Is there a large selection of English books at either of these book stores (or anywhere in Kunming, for that matter)? Or should I load up on reading material before I come?

[volga_volga]

Flagg,

Mandarin Books above has very good selection of English language books.

[XNinja]

There is a nice book store in Wenlin Jie with books in Chinese, English, French... It is quite international book store, so I like this one.