A 24-hour bookstore has been launched in the 600-year-old Yanchi tower of Beijing. The store promises an oasis of calm for those seeking refuge from big-city bustle.

Insomniacs and bookworms alike will be celebrating after the launch of a 24-hour bookstore in the six-hundred-year-old Yanchi tower of Beijing. The store promises an oasis of calm for those seeking refuge from big-city bustle.

When it all seems too much—the crowded streets, the thronged souvenir stores, the teeming restaurants—this quiet bookstore, nestled in an ancient building, may just be the tonic you need. And its arms are open night and day.

It is the newest branch of the state-owned Cathay Bookshop and is housed in a Ming-dynasty fort, about two kilometers from Beijing's Forbidden City.

The ground floor offers both Chinese classics and contemporary best-sellers, while the second floor presents an exhibition of ancient works.

Yanchi Tower, built in 1420, used to be a famous landmark on the central axis of old Beijing. It re-opened to the public in 2014 after restoration, whereupon Beijing's Xicheng District allocated it to the bookstore at no charge—its purpose to provide both a refuge from the city's noise and pace, and a place of learning.

The venue also plans readings and exhibitions.

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