PAGEONE's New APM Shop Draws Inspiration from Ancient City Planning
Good news for book lovers living in or around Wangfujing: If you’re bored from not finding anything worthwhile at the Beijing Foreign Languages Bookstore or Xinhua Bookstore, then you can head on up to the fourth floor of APM and check out the options at PAGEONE’s newest shop.
Having reopened its Sanlitun digs this past September following the opening of a branch near Andingmen, the bookstore chain – which tends to specialize in art-related topics – moves from strength to strength with this latest opening.
While it’s not as big as their massive Qianmen branch, and while it runs through the punches with its various sections, including a children’s area and ubiquitous café, the PAGEONE folks have been keen to point out how much the new shop ties into the location.
The whole layout is inspired by the area within the ancient city walls that surrounds it, taking its cue from city planning first proposed centuries ago in the Rites of Zhou (周礼 Zhōulǐ).
What are the Rites of Zhou? Attributed to the Duke of Zhou, a prominent official during the Western Zhou Dynasty (1100-771 BCE), the book is like a guide to rites and rituals involving food, music, etiquette and, you guessed it, city planning. The text was lost until around the 2nd Century CE, when it was rediscovered and added to the library of a Han Dynasty prince.
The city planning aspects of the book – specifically the idea of “inner and outer cities” – informed the planning of many subsequent Chinese cities, with Beijing still being a prime example in regards to its Central Axis and placement of a few altars and shrines. Some experts – especially the curators at the Shijia Hutong Museum – like to argue its influence can be found in more modern cities, like that of New York.
No matter the influence of Zhou’s city planning techniques, the folks at PAGEONE have taken it all in stride, designing their APM shop with the idea of an “inner and outer city” in mind.
Designed like a giant rectangle, the center of the space is focused on a sitting area with tables as well as terraced seating in the rear. The store radiates out from this central space, with bookshelves rippling outward on each side of the seating area.
True to form, you’ll also find a café within the bookshop, but it’s been separated from the space a little better than most other PAGEONE shops, the café taking on a more industrial feel – think concrete on concrete on concrete – compared to the homely feel of the bookshop proper.
Pop by APM over the holiday and peruse PAGEONE’s collection, maybe grab a coffee while you’re at it and take in the shop – you won’t be able to walk along a Central Axis or make any sacrifices on an altar for a good harvest, but perhaps browsing for books on these subjects is a safer bet.
PAGEONE (Beijing APM Shop)
4F, L427-430, Beijing APM Mall, 138 Wangfujing Avenue
王府井大街138号北京APML427-430号铺
READ: The Library of the Future is Coming to Beijing
Images: PAGEONE
