How to Buy Rare Chinese Books from Kongfz and Ship Worldwide: A Guide for Academics and Researchers

Introduction

In the world of academia, especially for scholars dedicated to Chinese studies, the difference between a good source and a transformative one often lies in its rarity, authenticity, and historical depth. As global interest in China’s ancient wisdom, political evolution, and cultural sophistication continues to grow, access to primary sources and rare academic materials has become essential.

Enter Kongfz.com—a digital haven for researchers. But for international academics, there’s a catch: Kongfz neither accepts foreign payments nor ships internationally. This is where CNXtrans becomes indispensable, bridging the gap between international researchers and the rich intellectual resources within China.

Why Kongfz Is a Treasure Trove for Academics Studying China

1. Unparalleled Access to Rare and Out-of-Print Works

Kongfz is the largest secondhand and antiquarian book platform in China. It's not just a marketplace—it's a living archive of China’s printed heritage:

Out-of-print academic monographs, including university press editions no longer in circulation.
Handwritten manuscripts, letters, and annotated texts by scholars, poets, and political thinkers.
Historical newspapers, magazines, and propaganda material from the Republican era (民国时期) and Cultural Revolution.
Primary sources in their original script, often unavailable outside of China.

This is particularly valuable for historians, political scientists, and sinologists conducting primary research who require access to non-digitized or original sources.

2. A Deep Repository for Local Scholarship

While major academic databases like CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) offer digitized journal content, Kongfz provides access to regional scholarship often missed by national publishers:

Local histories (方志), genealogies (族谱), and county-level publications.
Ethnographic studies, art catalogs, and minority language materials published by regional presses.
University theses and dissertations from China’s top institutions, often sold as printed editions.

For anthropologists and sociologists studying grassroots China, these are indispensable resources.

3. Unique Finds for Art and Literature Researchers

Kongfz also boasts an expansive collection of Chinese art, calligraphy, poetry, and literary criticism books, including:

Ancient poetry anthologies (古诗词总集).
Brush painting technique guides from leading artists.
Critiques and commentaries on classic novels like Dream of the Red Chamber and Journey to the West.

Many of these works include visual reproductions, marginalia, or collector annotations, which are of enormous value to scholars of visual culture and textual transmission.

4. An Ecosystem of Thousands of Bookstores

Rather than being a single seller, Kongfz is an aggregate platform representing tens of thousands of independent bookstores, many with deep specializations:

Bookstores focused on Qing Dynasty military history.
Sellers specializing in Cultural Revolution literature.
Dealers with collections from ex-professors, scholars, or defunct libraries.

This ecosystem is constantly refreshed, making Kongfz a living, breathing academic marketplace unlike anything else in the Chinese publishing world.

The Problem for Global Scholars: Why Accessing Kongfz Is Difficult

Despite its immense value, Kongfz is notoriously difficult for international buyers to navigate:

❌ Language barrier: The site is entirely in Chinese, and search functions require familiarity with Chinese keywords or academic terminology.
❌ Domestic payment systems: It only accepts local payment methods like Alipay, WeChat Pay, or Chinese bank cards.
❌ No international shipping: Sellers on Kongfz only ship within China, making it logistically impossible for foreign-based academics to receive their purchases.

CNXtrans: The Game-Changer for International Academic Access

CNXtrans is a third-party purchasing and international shipping service based in China, trusted by researchers, institutions, and libraries around the globe.

How CNXtrans Helps

✅ Places orders on your behalf from Kongfz using local payment methods.
✅ Receives items at their China warehouse, consolidates them, and re-packs for global shipping.
✅ Ships worldwide, including to the US, UK, EU, Australia, Canada, and Asia-Pacific countries.
✅ Handles customs documentation and provides tracking for every shipment.
✅ Offers customer service in English, making the entire process frictionless.
Bonus: CNXtrans can also help with purchases from other Chinese academic platforms like JD.com, Dangdang, Taobao, and university bookstores.

How to Use CNXtrans to Buy from Kongfz: A Scholar’s Workflow

Visit Kongfz.com and use Chinese keywords or copy-paste book titles from academic citations.
Identify books or materials you want and copy their URLs
Go to CNXtrans’s Kongfz Service Page.
Submit a purchase request including book links, quantities and the country you wish to ship to
Pay CNXtrans using international payment methods.
Receive books at your door—carefully packaged, tracked, and shipped securely from China.

Your Gateway to Chinese Intellectual History

Kongfz is not just an e-commerce platform—it’s an intellectual lifeline to China’s vast, often under-explored academic and cultural history. Whether you’re working on Qing law codes, Dunhuang manuscripts, minority ethnographies, or 1980s underground poetry, your next breakthrough might just be listed on Kongfz right now—and CNXtrans is how you’ll get it into your hands.