(10 September 2017, Sanya, (Xinhua) Sanya, a coastal resort in south China, has converted fishing boats into a floating public library.
“Sea Study” is the first public library on the island of Ximaozhou, eight nautical miles west to the downtown Sanya, Hainan Province.
“A life cannot be called life without books,” said Chen Muhu, 78, a fisherman who was browsing archeology books in the library.
The pyramid-shaped Ximaozhou Island is home to 4,000 residents, but has only one primary school.
“Locals needed a library badly,” said Qin Jiayi, the instigator of the project. “We see quite a few readers every day.”
More than 30 fishermen spent four weeks renovating three abandoned fishing boats into a reading cabin, a salon, and a 16-bed hostel.
Qin planned to double the library’s collection to 4,000 books.
The story in full is here.
