People prepare to enter the Xinhua Bookstore in London, capital of Britain, on Oct. 20, 2009. The Xinhua Bookstore (London) was formally opened on Tuesday. The bookstore is the first of its kind in Europe to sell books published in the Chinese mainland with the brand of Xinhua Bookstore. [Wang Yahong/Xinhua]

The Xinhua Bookstore, a decades-old, famous Chinese book selling chain store, formally opened its first outlet in north London on Tuesday, which is also the first of its kind all over Europe.

Xinhua Bookstore is an outstanding brand Chinese are proud of. At the opening ceremony of the London outlet, Wu Jiangjiang, president of the China National Publications Import & Export Corporation (CNPIEC), said: "Xinhua Bookstore (LONDON) aims to bring more Chinese books to the UK readers, help them know more about Chinese culture and society, and then develop the copyright trade, culture exchange and friendship between the two countries."

"We have a Memorandum of Understanding ... to help ... (Chinese) publishing companies to access the UK market. We have lots of interests of the publishing community in China," Wouter Schuitemaker, head of Asia-Pacific of Think London Group, told the reporters.

The Xinhua Bookstore (LONDON) was the first bookstore in Europe selling books from the Chinese mainland with the brand of Xinhua Bookstore. It mainly sells Chinese books, Chinese journals, English books on China, audio and video products, as well as traditional Chinese stationary, chess, calligraphy and paintings.

(Xinhua News Agency October 21, 2009)