Mount Zero Books sits in a side alley off Tai Ping Shan Street in Sheung Wan. It’s an area nestled along the hill of West Hong Kong Island, where antique stores, cafés and galleries squeeze in between old Hong Kong-style walk-up buildings.

The two-storey bookshop is small but well loved by local readers. It hosts a selection of Hong Kong and Taiwanese art and literary works, hand-picked by the owner, Sharon. It also sometimes functions as a community space for talks, music performances and movie screenings.

In 2018, Sharon decided to quit her job in finance to create a space for book lovers like her. The name Mount Zero means returning to one’s original nature. ‘What should be the next thing after climbing to the top of the mountain? It is to return to the starting point, back to zero,’ Sharon says.

• Tags: Hong Kong, Hsiuwen Liu, Issue 25, Zero Books