So instead of saving one of the biggest bookstores for myself, I decided we would go there this weekend. Xidan bookstore and I wanted to check out the world's longest escalator in Joy City Mall less than 2 blocks away.
My mother-in-law tells us it's time to get off the bus. I pull out my map and tell her Xidan is down farther, we have to go past Tianmen Square. No we go here. Okay, well as we started to go down a street that looked like Wanfujing Street(it was). I didn't want to come here, I want to go to Xidan, Xidan bookstore. Oh. We get back on bus. Bus drops us off right in front of the bookstore.
It's a dreary cold day, 20% rain turned into light sprinkles. But inside the 4 floor book store not including the basement it was hot, no air conditioner and filled with people(weekend). People brought their own stools to sit on. They were eating their lunch right there amongst the books that were scattered all over the floor. Well the boys didn't last to long looking at books. Too crowded, toys and game tablet like things to play with instead, so we left.
It's lunch time, so she's trying to stear us toward home. I said several times we want to go to Joy City Mall to ride the world's longest escalator (so the website says). We take subway back 1 stop and eat there. I caught on to her little trick. No, we go back, you want to go home, you won't come back here to ride escalator. Hmm. So as I was further showing on subway exit map where I wanted to go, we start walking. I would think a big mall like where we are heading has tons of food. I don't know, lets eat here, 77th street, as we are passing. Ok. There is hardly any selection on what we walked through, we ended up with yucky pizza. (I really am looking forward to real pizza. For people who like to taste the flavors of food, they don't like any flavor on pizza.) The boys see a sign for ice skating rink. In the B3 level we go to look at the rink. It was cold down there. Interesting to see people skating in shorts, tank tops, skirts and dresses. Very few that I could tell actually knew how to skate, but the rink was too small for them to enjoy.
Finally we get out and as she points us back to the main road. I kept saying I want to go to Joy City Mall for the world's longest escalator. This way. W hen we are back outside of the starting subway exit. I stop and say we need to go the other way. We finally pass a bigger city section map on the street that shows Joy City. So we go. She decides it's a good time to go into a bakery store and get some treats for the boys. Mind you we have this same bakery across the street from home. This one is packed. Me plus 2 stay outside. Now she is too tired to ride escalator with us. Aidan didn't want to ride it. So we took the escalator from from ground floor to the 6th floor. Only one way(up), lots of smaller 1 floor escalators all over the place.
We tried to get on to a glass elevator in the mall center, but it was over weight twice, so we kept walking. Found a better elevator, glass going down the outside of the building with a street view.
Obviously didn't get to explore the book store withe the kids, so I go back the next day. I did get the complete novels of Sherlock Holmes(I'm loving the BBC's Sherlock and our Elementary) and a chinese watercolor book on landscape. I am surprised they have quite a few children's cassette tapes. People are very nosy, I had several customers come up to me and try to look at my books. Maybe they figure I'd be buying the expensive foreigner books, they all had cards(possibly a point card?) and wanted to ....Who knows, I just turn and walk the other way. They are not store personnel. (In stores before people would be asking for people's receipts, some sort of scam I assume.) But overall not that impressed with this bookstore. I rather liked the bookstores on Wanfujing St. better.
Joy city mall lounge
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