‘Book forest’ opens in Ho Chi Minh City

Operated by Phuong Nam Corp (PNC), the ‘Phuong Nam Book City’ is the second of its kind to be launched by the Vietnamese book company, aimed at creating “a unique space for books, a place where every book that a reader needs could be found,” according to PNC deputy director Ngo Le Huan.

With over one million books available inside an area of nearly 3,000 square meters at The Garden Mall in District 5, it is the largest PNC bookstore in terms of stock size.

Readers can spend the whole day ‘trekking’ along the five-kilometer pathway that snakes through the massive bookstore across sections including fiction, children’s books, stationery, souvenirs and a book café.

The bookstore is a collection of books by both Vietnamese and foreign publishers, the latter including the likes of Hachette, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Phidal, Helen and Harper Collins.

A whole section is dedicated to Chinese-language books ranging from contemporary literature to classic works and comic books imported from Singapore.

Visitors are reminded of the 'book city'’s theme of mimicking a tropical rainforest with swaths of greens placed around every corner, while the children’s section is covered with wooden overhangs for added esthetic effects.

PNC launches its first 'book city' in June at a mall in southern Binh Duong Province, realizing the firm’s vision of opening bookstores large enough to house massive numbers of books for readers of different ages.