Pages of history

A library of ancient books opens in Suzhou, the first at a prefecture level in the country, Cheng Yuezhu reports.

Featuring a classical garden and assorted precious tomes, the new Suzhou Library of Ancient Books offers visitors an immersive experience of traditional Chinese culture.

The library opened to the public on Nov 29 in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, as the first library of ancient books in a prefecture-level city in China.

Visitors to the library are treated to its collection of ancient books, its database with the full-text retrieval feature, as well as a variety of events, including exhibitions, lectures and workshops.

It features a workspace, with chairs that allow visitors to sit and read the shelved books, computers for searching the books' content, and showcases displaying some documents and paintings from the library's collection.