Gift of youth endures after 90 years

Townspeople lap up the benefits of a well stocked book depository

Among all the libraries established in rural China, Heshun Library is renowned as one of the earliest and largest, as well as for its special history.

The library, in the ancient town of Heshun, in Tengchong, Yunnan province, was founded in 1928 with funds collectively raised by overseas Chinese in what was then Myanmar, who wanted to revitalize culture in their hometown. It achieved this goal, by influencing the outlook, and eventually the fate, of many young people in the town in those days, and it is still active in serving the local people. Last year China Central Television named it one of the top 10 libraries in Yunnan.