(30 December 2015) It was opened in late November to the public. And it has a large collection of books and periodicals published before 1949 and after, comparable in number with or even larger than leading domestic public libraries.
People interested in Chinese books and periodicals published in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and the Republic of China before 1949 can visit Zashuguan library in northeastern Beijing.
The library consists of two sections. One is a two-story “new library”, which contains books published after 1949. Here, locals and visitors can take books from the open shelves and sit on the couches and chairs to browse through them.
The other section is the “older” one, where more precious books, periodicals and materials published before 1949 are kept.
Readers are therefore not allowed to stroll through the three-story building searching for books on their own.
The China Daily has the full story by Yang Yang.
