(8 September 2014) The Duke of Cambridge will officially open the new £21 million Dickson Poon University of Oxford China Centre Building today, the home of the new Bodleian KB Chen China Library. Set in the grounds of St Hugh’s College, the centre will provide a dedicated space for all University of Oxford academics with an interest in China, bringing them together under the same roof for the first time. The new building features a 100-seater lecture theatre, seminar rooms, conference facilities and a state-of-the-art language laboratory.
The new Bodleian KB Chen China Library provides a permanent home for 60,000 volumes of the Bodleian Libraries’ Chinese book collection, and has seating and study space and IT facilities for up to 60 readers at any one time. The library is named after the late Mr K B Chen, in recognition of a generous gift his son Hong Kong businessman, Mr Henry Chen, made towards St Hugh’s College.
During his tour of the new centre, Prince William will view the Selden Map of China, a special treasure from the Libraries’ Selden Collection. He will also meet with members of Bodleian staff, including Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s Librarian, Minh Chung, Chinese Studies Librarian, and Joshua Seufert, HD Chung Chinese Studies Librarian.
Prince William’s visit will end with a traditional Chinese ribbon cutting ceremony in the central courtyard of the new building, where he will be joined by Mr Dickson Poon, His Excellency Ambassador Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese Ambassador to the UK, Lord Patten, Chancellor of the University of Oxford, and Dame Elish Angiolini, Principal of St Hugh’s College.
More information on visiting and using the new Bodleian KB Chen China Library is available on their website.
Read the illustrated announcement here.
