Zolima’s Picks: Great English and International Bookshops Across Hong Kong

This article is part of our Zolima’s Picks series highlighting creative spaces and businesses across Hong Kong. We’ve independently selected each location to bring you our recommendations. Click here for our previous bookshop articles.    

Reading is often described as discovering a new world. Across Hong Kong, the bookshops that house these journeys have become destinations to spark curiosity and conversations. Independent bookshops across the city offer more than shelves of titles — they provide spaces to reflect and reconnect, despite mounting challenges such as rising rents and online retail that make survival increasingly difficult.

Yet the shops that remain open do so because of their owners’ dedication. From Indosiam’s intimate setting — shaped by former teacher Yves Azemar’s share the stories behind his collection to visitors — to La Biblioteca Italian Library, which supports its community with accessible pricing and memberships, and the renowned family‑owned English-language bookshop chain Bookazine, each shop cultivates its own following. Together, they offer not just an escape from the city’s pressures, but a sense of belonging that feels increasingly rare. 

Despite a shifting landscape — marked by the exodus of roughly 500,000 residents between 2021 and 2023 and the loss of spaces like bookstore and publishing house Hillway Culture — Hong Kong’s resilient independent bookshops continue to champion diverse voices. It is a grueling yet rewarding mission to uphold the city’s literary heritage. Across various scales and neighbourhoods, these shops anchor Hong Kong’s intellectual life, each in its own distinct way. 

La Biblioteca Italian Library

Located in PMQ, La Biblioteca Italian Library was founded in October 2021 by seasoned journalist Lucia Esther Maruzzelli. Volunteer Alessia Carini says the location was specifically chosen “because of its rich history and vibrant cultural environment” and that “this stimulating environment would help the library find its own unique identity within the community.”

Conceived as a passion project funded by Italians residing in Hong Kong, it was established to spread the love of the Italian language through literature and support the local Italian community. Unlike larger, institution‑run language centres such as the German‑speaking Goethe‑Institut, it emerged from a grassroots will within the Italian community to create a space of its own, reflecting a desire not just to learn the language but to live it through books, shared reading and sustained cultural connection.

While the library collaborates with local institutions such as the Italian consulate and the Italian Cultural Institute, its operations remain independent. Over the past five years, Carini says the library has collected around 3,500 books through private donations, spanning genres such as thrillers, historical writing, classics and children’s books. (As a non‑profit it keeps titles accessible, offering duplicates or retired copies for sale.) The collection focuses on Italian authors, with only titles translated into English purchased in order to connect the local and international community with Italian literature. 

Earlier this year, as part of the third edition of the European Literature Night, there was a book reading of Giulia Caminito’s novel, The Lake’s Water is Never Sweet. Carini says the bookshop hopes to organise more reading nights — providing a relaxed atmosphere for people to focus on reading and share their thoughts alongside snacks and drinks. 

La Biblioteca Italian Library is located at Room H210, Block B, PMQ, 35 Aberdeen Street, Central.

Parenthèses bookshop – Photo by May James for Zolima CityMag

Parenthèses 

On the second floor of Duke of Wellington House lies Parenthèses, one of Hong Kong’s few dedicated French-language bookshops and has served the city since 1987. Home to the largest French population in Asia with more than 20,000 French citizens living in the city in 2016, the bookshop offers a wide range of products such as textbooks, classics, comics, dictionaries and stationery. 

Beyond its shelves, Parenthèses has evolved into a sanctuary where the community gathers over coffee and conversation. A diverse array of voices from chefs and dancers to comic book illustrators and acclaimed authors — including acclaimed writer Leïla Slimani and legendary actor Gérard Jugnot — have graced the shop. While high rents and digital competition make its survival a true labour of love, owner Madeline Progin says that the bookstore is a vital anchor for the French-speaking community, helping both expatriates and learners overcome cultural isolation through the power of literature. 

Parenthèses is located at 2/F, 14-24 Wellington Street, Central. 

Indosiam bookstore – Photo courtesy May James for Zolima CityMag

Indosiam Rare Books

Tucked away on Hollywood Road in Central, Indosiam is a time capsule to the past. Run by owner Yves Azemar since 2003, it specialises in rare and antiquarian books on Asia, with a particular focus on China, Vietnam and Japan. The collection leans primarily toward mostly French‑language books — alongside maps, historical images, documents and magazines. 

Azemar says he sees Indosiam less as a conventional bookshop, but rather as a sanctuary of knowledge —  a place where browsers can linger over uncommon titles that are hard to find elsewhere. He regularly travels to source materials in France and Belgium, returning with carefully chosen additions that further deepen the collection’s unique character, nurturing a devoted clientele of history enthusiasts and the curious alike. 

Indosiam Rare Books is located at 89 Hollywood Road, Central.

Photo courtesy Hanchasa

Hanchasa

Like the rest of the world, Korean fever in Hong Kong has surged in recent years. From restaurants to fashion and music, locals have immersed themselves in a soft cultural wave — whether aspiring to look like the next G-Dragon or Jennie, or simply enjoying a roll of kimbap. Literature is no exception. With a Korean population of nearly 9,000 in the city according to a 2021 census, Hanchasa sits on Chatham Road South, near Kimberley Road’s long-standing Little Korea — a hub for the community since the 1960s.

Established in 2001, Hanchasa is both a bookshop and a corner for Korean wave products and cultural exchange. It offers Korean teaching materials alongside a wide range of books, from contemporary fiction to children’s titles, as well as K-pop merchandise including CDs, DVDs, albums and magazines. Beyond retail, the shop has also played a role in organising reading workshops, fostering a sense of connection for both Korean residents and local enthusiasts.

Hanchasa Bookstore is located at Shop G78, Beverley Commercial Centre, 87-105 Chatham Road South, Tsim Sha Tsui. 

Japanbookworm 

Similar to its East Asian neighbour, Hong Kong is also home to a distinctly Japanese literary enclave. Situated in the increasingly hip neighbourhood of Sham Shui Po, known for its growing cluster of independent cafés like Dozy and creative spaces including Noii Art House, Japanbookworm stands out as a carefully curated destination that goes beyond a typical bookstore. 

Alongside Japanese-language titles, it offers an eclectic mix of travel guides, art and design magazines and lifestyle goods such as tote bags and clothing. With a Japanese population of over 10,000 recorded in the 2021 census, the shop serves both as a cultural touchpoint for the community and a discovery space for locals drawn to Japan’s distinct aesthetic sensibility. 

Japanbookworm is located at 132 Ki Lung Street, Sham Shui Po.

Cosmos Books – Photo courtesy Sebastien Raybaud

Cosmos Books

Cosmos Books offers a bilingual literary experience that reflects Hong Kong’s hybrid reading culture. Stocking both English and Chinese titles — from legendary titles like Old Master Q to revered books like Yuyi’s Kowloon Walled City and Chan Mou’s The Ravages of Time (火鳳燎原) — the shop goes beyond retail through its own publishing arm, producing works that often foreground local voices and perspectives. 

It is also active in organising book fairs and conferences, positioning itself as a participant in the city’s literary discourse rather than just a seller of books. With a dedicated Hong Kong-themed selection, Cosmos functions as a platform for readers seeking to engage more deeply with the city’s cultural and intellectual landscape. 

Cosmos Books is located at F, Basement & 1, 30 Johnston Road, Wan Chai. 

Photo courtesy Bookazine

Bookazine

Though it operates multiple branches across the city in venues like IFC Mall and Festival Walk, Bookazine remains Hong Kong’s leading family‑owned independent English‑language bookshop. Its roots trace back to 1980, when founder Mohan Mirchandani established Far East Media, which became a distribution powerhouse in the city; five years later, in 1985, he opened Bookazine at Hopewell Centre (then the city’s tallest skyscraper) to spread his love of books.

Today, managed by his daughter Shonee, the store “has always been more than just a bookstore,” she says. Instead, it is a place where people discover new ideas, continue learning and escape into a good story. “Continuing my father’s legacy means staying true to those values while also evolving with how people read, shop and connect,” she says, adding that championing reading as something joyful and meaningful remains at the heart of everything Bookazine does.

With a curated selection of titles from children’s books to bestsellers, Bookazine has grown into a vital cultural hub that hosts author talks and community events featuring local and international figures such as illustrator Sophia Hotung, entrepreneur Simon Squibb and photographer Joyce Yung. Shonee hopes visitors of all ages leave inspired and take a moment away from their screens to discover the quiet magic of stories.

Bookazine has multiple branches across the city, including locations at Landmark Prince’s Building, IFC Mall, Lyndhurst Terrace, Festival Walk and Repulse Bay, while Bookazine Social is located at Tai Kwun.

Kelly and Walsh 

Kelly & Walsh is a bookstore steeped in nearly 150 years of history. Founded in 1876 through the merger of Shanghai booksellers Kelly and Co. and F. & C. Walsh, the company relocated to Hong Kong in the 1950s after establishing itself as a premier publisher of English-language works. Its sister brand, Swindon Book — long the city’s primary source for textbooks—pivoted to an online-only model after closing its iconic Tsim Sha Tsui storefront in 2020.

Today, Kelly & Walsh operates two physical boutiques in Pacific Place and Central’s Lok Yuen Building. The shop maintains a curated balance of local heritage and global trends, stocking titles ranging from Vaudine England’s Fortune Bazaar and Alice May’s Red Pockets to international bestsellers like James Clear’s Atomic Habits.

Kelly and Walsh has two different locations: Shop 216, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty and 25 Des Voeux Road, On Lok Yuen Building Lower Level, Central.

Photo courtesy Eslite

Eslite 

“Eslite is not just a bookstore, but a place to settle your mind and body,” founder Robert C.Y. Wu once remarked. This philosophy has anchored the Taiwanese brand’s expansion in Hong Kong since 2012. Following the closure of international bookstore chain Page One of all its bookstores in the city in 2016 — once a cherished destination for children to explore bilingual collections — Eslite stepped in to provide a critical platform for international literature. By turning multi-story branches, from the Causeway Bay flagship to the expansive Olympian City store, into genuine cultural hubs, it has created a rare space where bibliophiles can linger without the pressure of the city’s usual pace.

While the Hong Kong outposts may lack the sheer diversity of Taiwan’s dedicated galleries and foundations, they remain tirelessly active in fostering a local reading culture. In May 2026, Eslite’s branches transformed into intellectual hubs, hosting sessions that bridged the natural and the digital — from the launch of the Hong Kong Coral Fish photo log to deep dives into AI. By weaving lifestyle retail into these high-minded exchanges, Eslite continues to prove that even within a relentless commercial centre, a bookstore can serve as a vital cultural sanctuary. 

Eslite has various locations across Hong Kong, such as Hysan Place Causeway Bay, Star House 3 Tsim Sha Tsui, Cityplaza Tai Koo, Olympian City 3. For more info, please click here.