An Italian sinologist's encounter with books in Beijing's hutong

Michele Ferrero is an Italian sinologist who has lived in Beijing for ten years. He also teaches Latin and ancient Greek culture at Beijing Foreign Studies University.

His visit to a community bookstore called Chunshu Bookstore in Beijing's Xicheng district unpacks both a period of history and a little surprise. The old courtyard-style building was converted from the former residence of Lin Baishui, an outspoken journalist and an advocate for social change in the 1900s. And it's hard not to get his eyes off the books about the history of Rome and ancient Greece for academics like him.

(Video provided by Beijing Foreign Studies University)