First online English bookstore in China!

The latest copy of City Weekend draws our attention to the launch of BooksDirect.com.cn, a tripartite joint venture between Xinhua Media, Chaterhouse Booktrader and Bertelsmann DirectGroup. We understand this to be the first online English bookstore in China, and guess what, they also offer free delivery to locations in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Nanjing! We checked out prices on the website and they seem to be fairly cheap. Hardcore supporters of Shanghaiist who are in the market for books, especially of the more dissident and subversive variety that would not be available here, might also like to check out our rotating Amazon ads.