In the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Academy in the southern area of the Grand Canal Cultural Tourism Scenic Area in Beijing (Tongzhou), you can read and meet friends and trace the historical context of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal; in the Qinpu School in the North Garden of the National Botanical Garden, you can read the book "Red Chamber Culture" and select exquisite cultural creations to feel the profound cultural connotation of "Dream of Red Mansions"; and at the Qinghui Bookstore in the Dashilar Historical and Cultural District of Qianmen, you can enjoy precious old photos and relive the warm old times in the hutongs......
In recent years, although the living space of physical bookstores has been continuously squeezed, there are still many bookstores in scenic spots. Combined with the characteristics of the scenic spot and the innovative business model, they provided a different reading experience for tourists on the journey, and also explored a characteristic path for the development of bookstores in the scenic spot.
Photo by Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Academy reporter Cao Xuewen
The scenic bookstore is a new space for the integration of culture and tourism, integrating cultural exchanges, tourism and leisure. During the visit, the reporter found that many scenic bookstores are based on the characteristic culture of the scenic spot, and shape the unique brand characteristics of the bookstore from various aspects such as store layout design, book selection, cultural and creative product development, and event planning, so as to accurately attract some tourists and readers.
The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Academy is located in the Grand Canal Forest Park in Tongzhou, Beijing, with a construction area of nearly 1,000 square meters. Sun Rui, the person in charge of the college, told reporters: "The bookstore is closely connected to the Grand Canal, and the interior of the store is streamlined, implying that the Grand Canal culture has a long history. The store has a collection of more than 30,000 books, mainly canal cultural books, and also sets up a display and sales area for special cultural and creative products such as Grand Canal gifts. ”
Photo by Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Academy reporter Cao Xuewen
The Grand Canal has a history of more than 2,500 years, giving birth to a rich Grand Canal culture. Talking about the original intention of the bookstore's location, Sun Rui said that he hoped to combine the cultural characteristics of the bookstore with the scenery of the Grand Canal Forest Park to create a canal-themed cultural tourism space and lead tourists and readers to appreciate the unique Grand Canal culture.
Photo by Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Academy reporter Cao Xuewen
Similar to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Academy, which has a distinctive cultural identity, Qinpu Academy, a bookstore with the theme of Cao Xueqin's Dream of the Red Chamber, has also attracted many lovers of The Dream of the Red Chamber.
The Qinpu School is located in the Cao Xueqin Memorial Hall of the National Botanical Garden (North Park), which was once Cao Xueqin's residence in her later years. The books in the store are mainly selected editions of "Dream of the Red Chamber", Cao Xueqin's research, and monographs on the study of the Dream of the Red Chamber. The Dream of Red Mansions Post Office of the bookstore can provide tourists and readers with philatelic products and postal services with the theme of Dream of the Red Chamber. Cao Xueqin, also known as Qinpu and Qinxi, is named after Qinpu as a bookstore, and also hopes to read and understand like Cao Gong. "Staff introduction.
Xiao Xu, a tourist from Nanjing, is a "red fan". After visiting the bookstore, Xiao Xu said that the books on "Dream of Red Mansions" in the bookstore are very professional, and there are many exquisite cultural and creative products designed according to the plot of "Dream of Red Mansions". "Just now, I not only mailed a postcard with the theme of Dream of Red Mansions to my friends in Nanjing, but also bought special cultural and creative products such as bookmarks of the twelve hairpins of Red Mansions and 'Beauty Boxing', I hope they can like it. ”
Photo by Cao Xuewen, reporter of Qinpu Academy
In addition to building a distinctive brand, the scenic bookstore also combines with coffee, offline activities, live broadcast and other formats to build a new consumption scene with the "bookstore +" model, explore new profit models, and enhance the experience of tourists and readers.
Qinghui Bookstore, located in the Dashilar Historical and Cultural District of Qianmen, is a bookstore with the theme of Beijing culture. Ms. Dong, the owner, introduced that as a cultural experience space, the bookstore will not only sell books, receive tourists and readers, but also hold reading clubs, intangible cultural heritage handicrafts and other activities. Since its opening last year, the bookstore has held more than 20 offline activities, including the "Picturesque Time in Beijing Hutongs" reading club, building a platform for tourists and readers to communicate.
In addition to holding lectures and book sharing sessions related to "Dream of Red Mansions", Qinpu Academy will also hold a series of cultural experience activities such as Cao Xueqin Culture and Art Festival and Red Fan Carnival every October, leading tourists and readers to encounter "Dream of Red Mansions" and feel the fun brought by art and beautiful scenery. In addition, the bookstore's operation team has also refined and developed a series of cultural and creative products called "The Twelve Elegances of the Dream of the Red Chamber" from the lifestyle described in "A Dream of Red Mansions", and developed and launched special delicacies such as the Dream of Red Mansions Tomato and Rice Set with the relevant chef team, so that tourists and readers can have a unique food experience in addition to reading.
It is understood that since 2022, the operation team of Qinpu School has also held a number of themed live broadcasts such as the Winter Solstice Chilling Party and the New Year in "Dream of Red Mansions". In the live broadcast room, the audience can not only discuss the plot of the novel "Dream of Red Mansions" and the culture behind it, but also buy special cultural and creative products such as table mats for Dream of Red Mansions and refrigerator magnets for 12 hairpins, which increases the profit channels of the bookstore.
Similar to Qinpu Academy, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Academy is also constantly innovating its business model and exploring the integrated development of bookstores in scenic spots. Since its opening, the academy has planned and organized lectures on the theme of Grand Canal culture, seal carving exhibitions and other activities every month, which has been favored by canal culture scholars, intangible cultural heritage inheritors, many tourists and readers, and has been awarded the "Most Beautiful Bookstore in China" and the Grand Canal Reading Base in 2023. At the same time, based on its own characteristics, the college also actively seeks cooperation with Capital Normal University and other units, and has carried out a number of research and study tours.
"We will continue to innovate, keep up with the new trend of cultural tourism development, give full play to the role of the academy in communicating and disseminating the culture of the Grand Canal, and build it into an influential reading cultural space for the whole people. Sun Rui said. (Author: China Tourism News reporter Cao Xuewen; editor: Yang Shuo)