The Huishan Bookstore, a branch of Nanjing's Librairie Avant-Garde, keeps classic architectural style in Huishan Ancient Town scenic area of Wuxi. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Huishan Bookstore in Wuxi may already be considered one of the city's most esteemed reading spaces, but its reputation took a bold step forward in the aftermath of a provincial book fair held in Suzhou which nominated it among the 10 most beautiful bookstores in Jiangsu.

While tourists are generally amazed by the vintage architectures of the city's Huishan Ancient Town scenic area, the bookstore stands in a former ancestral hall providing an ideal place to browse and escape the often dense crowds that descend on one of Wuxi's prime tourist attractions.

Built in April 2012, Huishan Bookstore was the first branch of Nanjing's renowned Librairie Avant-Garde bookstore chain to open outside of the provincial capital. The store was listed among the world's top 10 bookshops by the National Geography this April and has gained similar recognition by BBC and CNN in recent years.

The latest announcement is certainly exciting to book lovers and travelers not to mention Zhang Zheng, the shop manager who starts his work days early in the summer months so as to deal with the increase in visitors flocking through the store doors to escape the afternoon heat.

"It always makes me happy seeing so many visitors take photos and sharing them online, they are stunned by the beauty of the place," Zhang says.