Pingshan Library opens Saturday

Writer: Liu Yangyang  | Editor: Holly Wang  | From:  | Updated: 2019-03-25

Zhou Guoping (2nd L) gives the first library card to readers at the opening ceremony of the library.

The much-anticipated Pingshan Library officially opened to the public in Pingshan District on Saturday.

The10-story Pingshan Library covers a floor area of13,200 square meters, providing more than800 seats with a designed collection of at least1.2 million books. It has also joined the citywide borrowing-and-returning service platform, meaning readers can return books they have borrowed from Pingshan Library to any of its counterparts in Shenzhen.

Contemporary Chinese philosopher, writer and scholar Zhou Guoping, who was appointed the library’s first director Nov.19,2018, addressed the event at the opening ceremony.“It’s my honor to be appointed as the first director of Pingshan Library. The library will definitely be a great one because it’s Pingshan, one of the youngest administrative districts in Shenzhen, that is accommodating the library,” said Zhou.

“To assess the cultural development level of a region or a city, whether it has a quality library is a reliable criterion. I believe Pingshan Library will be the one,” said Zhou.

As for the advice for readers, Zhou noted,“The late director of the National Library of the Argentine Republic, Jorge Luis Borges, once said,‘I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library,’ which depicts the bibliophile’s feelings exactly. The best state of one’s life is to have found one’s inner peace, with one’s mind enriched and one’s soul entertained. I think the most efficient, convenient and economical way to get yourself in that moment is to sit down in a library and read a book.”

Zhou’s writings cover a wide range of styles, from prose to poetry, documentary writing and translation of foreign works.

Zhou also has rich experience in managing books. He was a consultant of the National Library of China in2007 and the honorary director of Hubei Provincial Library in2013.

The Pingshan Library is also unique for its special collection on the sixth floor, where the works of eight scholars— including Han Shaogong, a famous Chinese novelist, Ding Xueliang, an academic instructor at Shenzhen University, Zhu Yongxin, a member of the standing committee of the CPPCC national committee and an educator, and Zhou— are housed. They will share their ideas and opinions with readers by recommending books and communicating with the public during literary salons.