With Chinese New Year coming up, everyone’s making plans for the holiday time we’re getting off. Some might be planning to visit sites domestically or abroad, while others will take a well-deserved respite at home with friends and family. This week, LIFT introduces a great bookstore that young Cambodians should definitely check out to get into the cultural mind-set and leave with some great reads.

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At Xin Zhi Books, a bookstore specialising in Chinese books and study material, there’s something for every university student. The store is located in a modern, light-green eight-storey building at No. 83 Street 289, Sangkat Boeung Kak II, Khan Toul Kak, Phnom Penh.

My friends and I hit up Xin Zhi after classes last week. We were taken aback by all the modern, art-deco designs. But unlike the cool and sharp interior, the staff was gentle and welcoming.

We thought that the store might only have Chinese-language books. As we walked through the shop, we were stunned by the amount of books in Chinese, Khmer and English language on the first floor; thousands of books were arranged into categories by genre.

Walking past the books, there was a profound array of pens, pencils, rulers, notebooks, colour pencils, papers, bags and anything else you’d need for school.

Xin Zhi also has a unique toy collection to top off their books and study materials. We couldn’t help but spend time fascinated with their robots and model-cars.

“The bookstore was established to contribute to and to share the Chinese language and culture with students,” said Xu Lina, a manager at Xin Zhi.

“Xin Zhi is here to help strengthen the relationship between Cambodia and China.”

Xu Lina added that both Xin Zhi’s books and study material are original products of high-quality.