The Eslite chain, founded in Taipei in 1989, is the literary heart of the Taiwanese-speaking world — bookshops that double as galleries, music shops, design stores, and meeting places. The Xinyi flagship, opened in 2006 in a six-floor cubic glass building behind Taipei City Hall MRT, is the chain's most ambitious branch.
The book selection covers the full range of Chinese-language publishing, with substantial dedicated rooms for design, art, architecture and children's books, plus a serious English-language section on the third floor. A cluster of craft, fashion and stationery shops fills the other floors, alongside a coffee shop and a small concert hall. The original 24-hour branch at Dunhua South Road closed in 2020; the Xinyi flagship now closes at 10pm.