Most of the bookstores in Nanjing are local brands, and there are not many foreign bookstores introduced. Among them, the Pioneer Bookstore, as an indispensable business card of Nanjing, plays a pivotal role.

Even if you look at the whole country, Pioneer Bookstore is also a typical and representative of bookstores, and a major work in the cultural industry. In 2015, it was selected as one of the "12 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World" by the Guardian newspaper, and in 2016, it was selected as one of the top 10 bookstores in the world by National Geographic, and it is the only bookstore in Asia to be selected.

Pioneer Bookstore has opened a number of stores in Nanjing, each with its own characteristics. Pioneer Bookstore and New Life Bookstore is located on the second basement floor of the Republic of China Pavilion of Nanjing Museum, and the bookstore mainly sells special books of the Republic of China and retro cultural and creative products of the Republic of China; Pioneer Bookstore Runze Bookstore is a campus bookstore that is a good place for students to study on their own; Pioneer Bookstore Junhui Bookstore is located in a Hui building in the east of Laomen, with a very antique decoration style; As a flagship store, the pioneer bookstore Wutaishan Main Store is a cultural landmark in Nanjing, and it is also the most recommended for both the size of the bookstore and the number of books in the collection.

The Wutaishan store began to open to the public in 2004 and is the earliest store of Pioneer Bookstore. The interior of the bookstore, which has been converted from an underground garage, reflects the characteristics of a pioneer bookstore: a sculpture of the "Contemplative" at the entrance, a cross with the slogan "Stranger of the Land", and black-and-white photographs of famous writers on both sides of the walls.

The total area of the bookstore is 3,680 square meters, and the store is clearly divided into multiple areas such as book area, activity area, cultural and creative area, and coffee area. The bookstore has a total collection of more than 300,000 books, and all types of books are complete. Pioneer bookstores have different classification standards for books, and some books are classified according to publishers. The bookstore has a number of publishing houses, including classic publishing houses such as Zhonghua Book Company, Commercial Press, and Joint Publishing House, as well as popular publishing houses such as Guangxi Normal University Press, New Star Publishing House, and Houlang Books. In addition, the Pioneer Bookstore will also customize the theme display according to the different types of books, such as the theme of photography books is "Image Hunter", the theme of film books is "Sculpting Time", and the theme of architecture books is called "The Poetics of Space", which is very interesting in terms of naming and classification.

In terms of book selection, Pioneer Bookstore has both the characteristics of best-selling and niche. Most of the best-selling books are placed in a conspicuous position at the entrance, mainly literary books, while other books such as linguistics, history, theology and other types are mostly research works and relatively obsolete. Pioneer Bookstore also sells blindly selected books, adding to the fun of the book buying process. Blind selection books are priced at 98 yuan and contain two to three books, random postcards, book stamps and the founder's bookmark.

In terms of the richness of offline activities, Pioneer Bookstore is also the best among all bookstores in Nanjing. Pioneer Bookstore holds a regular reading club every week to provide a platform for Pioneer members to read, share and communicate. The bookstore has held writers' meetings from time to time, and has invited famous writers such as Bei Dao, Yu Xiuhua, Adonis, Chi Zijian, and Bai Xianyong to communicate with readers in person. In addition to the above, Pioneer Bookstore will also carry out other rich activities, such as actors' meet-and-greets, musicals, new book sessions, book signings, etc., in a variety of forms.

The cultural and creative product area and the library area are separated by a grid wall made of postcards. Most of the cultural and creative products of the pioneer bookstore are original and self-made by the bookstore, including notebooks, postcards, canvas bags, ornaments, building blocks, perfumes, etc., in addition, the bookstore also sells a small number of Nanjing specialties, miscellaneous but not refined, as a spiritual symbol more than the object itself. The fly in the ointment is that the bookstore has a high flow of people, a crowded and noisy environment, and a poor reading experience.