From secondhand books and graphic novels to the latest english and french releases, these are the best hong kong bookstores. Trying to remain on the cutting edge of trends, hong kong just added a 24hour bookshop, called eslite bookstore, in the recently opened hysan place shopping mall in causeway bay. Founded in 1997 by a husband and wife, browsing the shelves at flow books is the quaintest of shopping experiences, with every nook and cranny crammed with overflowing volumes. And hong kong does pretty well when it comes to stocking english language delights. Highlights of hong kongs best sources for english language books, including art books, used book shops, specialty book stores, and online. English language bookstores arent as few and far between as you may think, so weve rounded up five of our favourites for all our fellow. One of hong kong s oldest and most trusted booksellers as well as tsim sha tsuis premier english language bookstore swindon has got everything you could want, spread across two floors. The official languages of hong kong are chinese and english.
Second hand english language books cockloft, 2 elgin street, central, hong kong. The amount of english speakers are 3,6,784 and forty eight percent 48% peoples in hong kong speaks mandarin. I think this is a very valuable volume for it is an excellent collection of english writing by contemporary authors whore based in hong kong. Textbooks for secondary schools english language open. Mandarin overtakes english as hong kongs second language. Paradise mall outlets and sportswear at pak sha wan. The history and principles of chinas most explosive martial art. During the british colonial era, english was the sole official language until 1974. As a city with a checkered history, hong kong has recently witnessed its own transition from the british colony to a special administrative region of the prc. We have over 3 million books available for you to buy online, in thousands of categories and deliver to both hong kong and macau. The variant is either a learner interlanguage or emergent variant, primarily a result of hong kongs british overseas territory history and the influence of native hong kong cantonese speakers. Hong kongs largest english language bookseller, dymocks, is to end its 15year local presence in an industry battered by high rents and shifting reading habits. Wangfujing foreign language bookstore if you are looking for fiction books, and are tired of the typical english language fiction classics you find throughout all of asia, wangfujings foreign language bookstore is a great option.
Before 1997, hong kong belonged to the uk, so english is well established on the island. In hong kongs book industry, everybody is scared this article is more than 3 years old hong kong used to be a place of relatively free speech in. However, i find it totally unconvincing to try to argue for a language spoken by just 0. They carry both old and new books in english and chinese, including outofprint and rare first editions. Teaching math and english to students ranging from kindergarten to secondary in small class setting. While most of the books are in chinese, there are enough english titles to keep the monoliterate happy, including plenty of good magazines, graphic novels and. We charge by the weight of the order and not by the number of books. Selection of foreign language books of special interest to hong kong audiences.
The general english language market is more established in hong kong english is still more widely spoken on a daily basis in hong kong than in china. Hong kong is ideal for a city trip or your starting point for a longer holiday in china. Hong kong english books publisher on the secrets to a best. Foreign language books books hong kong online bookstore. Its well known for being a reliable distributor of textbooks, from secondary school to university level, but it also. Nonetheless, other chinese dialects, such as hakka, taishanese and teochiu are also present, as is mandarin of course chinas official dialect, which has become more widely spoken in hong kong since the reunification in 1997. The dominant view of many linguists and educators has been that hong kong english is a variety of the language that is derived from, and dependent on, the metropolitan norm of british english. The closure of singaporean bookstore page ones hong kong stores and branches of australian franchise dymocks over the past two years does not. Millions of products at discount prices its shopping made easy. English language book stores in hong kong thehkshopper.
In china, we know that our english books are primarily read by people who want to specifically improve their english, in order to get a. The following list is the bookstores that sell japanese books with a focus on jlpt textbooks that i. Hong kong is an amazing place, with different cultures coexisting in a way that is hard to find anywhere else in the world. Harbour city is hong kong largest shopping centre, while temple street night market has bargains galore. Its well known for being a reliable distributor of textbooks, from secondary school to university level, but it also stocks a variety of leisure reading, from magazines to hardcover art features, and from classics to contemporary literature. It has been argued that english in hong kong was never nativized as in other asian societies, and that it has not deserved the recognition accorded to other varieties of asian english.
Founded in 1918, swindon is one of the oldest, most established englishlanguage bookstores in hong kong. Taschen store hong kong, shop 01g02, tai kwun, 10 hollywood road, central, hong kong, 2544 8016, founded in 1918, swindon is one of the oldest, most established english language bookstores in hong kong. But for many, buying a book is all about holding it in your hand, reading the back cover, and perusing the first few pages to see if it hits the spot. The doyenne of hong kong indie bookstores has been open next to the broadway cinematheque since 2001, serving as a convenient crossroads for filmlovers, coffeedrinkers and readers. The englishlanguage literature scene in hong kong has produced a number of fascinating books on the regions everyday life and its people. Cantonese, a minority dialect of mainland china, is spoken by 88 per cent of people in hong kong. English language book stores in hong kong the hk shopper.
Dymocks with several branches including ifc mall, peak galleria, princes building central and hopewell centre has a good. As one of the most popular bookstores among the englishspeaking community here in hong kong, bookazine prides itself on offering the best selection of. Com hong kong online bookstore, toy shop, gifts serving hong kong and macau. Welcome to the largest online bookstore in hong kong. The taiwan megabookstore has 3 stores in hong kong. So, i decided to aim for n1 of the japanese language proficiency test jlpt for july 2016. The proportion of hong kong residents who report they can speak mandarin referred to in mainland china as putonghua, or the common language clocks in at 48%, according to census. Page one have large stores at times square, harbour city and festival walk and a good selection of books although i cant recall having seen japanese books there i think the asahiya bookstore in sogo dept store causeway bay on the 11th floor may sell japanese books. The hong kong disneyland official app is currently available in english, traditional chinese and simplified chinese.
Hong kong bookshops pull politically sensitive titles. Maybe teaching english in hong kong is the one for you. Chinas emerging englishlanguage book market publishing. The best hong kong bookstores for all you book lovers. True stories of adventure, miracles, and evangelism from china. Closure for bookshop to support efforts to prevent the spread of covid19 in hong kong, we have suspended operations at our british council admiralty centre and it will not be opened to the public until further notice. The ultimate guide to hong kong book stores highlights of hong kong s best sources for english language books, including art books, used book shops, specialty book stores, and online retailers. Despite the closure of englishlanguage bookstore chains dymocks and. English speaking jobs, employment in hong kong island. To that aim, ive scoured both the internet and hong kong for bookstores that sell books in japanese.
Based in hong kong, wisekids represents and distributes a wide collection of renowned educational toys as well as international toy brands like playmobil, steiff, manhattan toy, vilac, and voila. But dont think that being so prolific means the stores have lost their identity, because nothing could be further from. The amazing markets and skyscrapers draw thousands of visitors every year. Oxfam also runs second hand shops for books, clothing, home and fashion accessories, one in central lg8, jardine house, 1 connaught place and one in causeway bay shop 33, 11f windsor house, 311 gloucester road. Hong kong english is the english language as it is used in hong kong. The following is our pick of the best 7 in the city. Com has s of english language teaching elt books on sale in hong kong. This smart, welllaidout book store specializes in chinese art and is an oasis for artistic locals and expats in hong kong. Hong kong bookstore hong kong online bookstore, toy shop.
Oxfam hong kong is an independent international development and humanitarian organisation working against poverty and related injustice. Page one, a major singapore chain, with outlets in both hong kong and mainland china, has decided to stop selling all politically sensitive books in chinese known locally as jinshu, or. The ultimate guide to hong kong book stores the hk hub. The basic law of hong kong stipulates that chinese and english are the two official languages of hong kong. The ultimate guide to hong kong book stores highlights of hong kongs best sources for english language books, including art books, used book shops, specialty book stores, and online retailers. These are the best book stores in hong kong to get lost in for hours. Biggest bookstore in hong kong eslite bookstore, hong.
Well, you may say, hong kong is a metropolis, so it should not be surprising that there are many westerns who speak english as their first language. As the majority of the population in hong kong are descendants of migrants from chinas canton province, the vast majority speak standard cantonese or other yue chinese varieties as a first language, with. English language teaching elt books hong kong online. So popular that there are 10 locations within hong kong to choose from. Bookseller dymocks to close flagship ifc mall store and. This interesting concept has worked well in taiwan so perhaps it will do fine here in hong kong. In hong kong there are forty six point zero seven 46. The interface language is based on the language settings in your device, i. Lonely planet hong kong travel guide by lonely planet, lorna parkes, et al. Rory boland is a guidebook author and travel writer who has lived and worked in hong kong and london.
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