People read at the Bell Tower Xinhua Bookstore in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China’s Shaanxi province, on Aug 28. The bookstore began being renovated at the beginning of 2020. The refurbished store has a total area of 4,155 square meters and four floors, like it originally had in the 1950s. [Photo/CFP]

The Bell Tower Xinhua Bookstore is the first State-owned bookstore in Xi'an. It has long been deemed a cultural landmark in the capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province.

The entire building, a design from the former Soviet Union, integrates relief sculpture from traditional Chinese architecture. Now the bookstore is returning to its original site after relocation in 2008.

The exterior, which largely retains the original 1950s appearance, looks nostalgically beautiful with vitrines and Russian embossments.

As the bookstore returns to the urban map, locals and tourists are dawn to this historical space for knowledge and memories.

Two women read at the Bell Tower Xinhua Bookstore in Xi'an on Aug 28. As the largest book store in Northwest China, it is not only a landmark of Xi'an, but also a cultural relic protection unit of Xi'an and Shaanxi. [Photo/CFP]

People browse books at the Bell Tower Xinhua Bookstore in Xi’an on Aug 28. [Photo/CFP]