As someone who appreciates Vincent Van Gogh, I was happy to see at Eslite Van Gogh: Lust for Life, translated by the Taiwan writer and poet Yu Kwang-chung. The four copies of its Taiwan edition were put on the shelf among Eslite's books of the month. Around them were The Poems of Emily Dickinson, The Illuminaries by Eleanor Catton and The Blind Massage by Bi Feiyu. Such selections, an old Eslite tradition, are organized by a team of 50 to 60 people from the mainland and Taiwan.

Avant-Garde's Zhang Xing says that many people are now keen on opening bookstores, but in the end being able to compete with others lies in the skills and knowledge of the staff shops employ.

"We have two staff whose specific job is to choose books. They have followed the publishing industry for more than 10 years. You cannot just recruit a person with a PhD to do the job. It's not that easy."

Indeed, it costs a lot to run a store covering 3,750 sq m－one that was just 17 sq m when it opened 20 years ago－not to mention a store that runs at a loss year after year.

At Avant-Garde two solemn black crosses that hang overhead are unmissable, as are the 72 steps that take you to the entrance of Eslite bookstore, at the right side of which are book titles that mark the bookshop's growth, and the star-lit ceiling of Zhongshuge's room for art books.

All of these shops are renowned for the flair of their design and their cool ambience, which has helped turn them into must-visits for tourists.

Asked about the difference between buying books online and in physical shops, Lang equates it to the difference that a devout believer would find in praying at an online church and going to St Paul's Cathedral in London.

"We want to change people through books. Or we just offer them a space in which the music, the smell of drinks or food, the beautiful design of the products, the touch of a good book, the names of the authors or the book titles, run to you, bringing with it knowledge, broadening your view, cultivating your tastes and in the end helping to mold your personal disposition."

The new generation of book buyers in the mainland under the age of about 25 are different in the way they buy things, he says. Social transformation through urbanization is also bringing about new ways of buying and marketing. Looking attractive has become critical to bookstores, places where people are looking for themselves through books.

"Each Zhongshuge is different in terms of design and market niche, but they have one thing in common," says Tao. "They are all highly attractive, and that is one of the essentials."