National Library of China

　　Destination Introduction
　　The National Library of China is China's national library and one of the world's top five libraries with collections exceeding ten million volumes.

　　　　In the 31st year of the Guangxu reign (1905), the Qing government promoted schools and abolished the imperial examination system. Hunan established the first library in the country. In the 33rd year of the Guangxu reign (1907), Zhang Zhidong was transferred to serve as a Grand Councilor and concurrently as the Minister of Education with the title of Minister of the Hall of Virtuous Governance. The following year, in preparation for establishing the Metropolitan Library (Jingshi Library), he purchased private collections from Yao Jinyuan’s “Zhi Jin Zhai” in Huzhou and Xu Naichang’s “Ji Xue Zhai” in Yangzhou, bringing them to Beijing. The Iron Qin and Copper Sword Tower (Tieqin Tongjian Lou) of the Qu family in Changshu hired people to make copies of several books, keeping the originals in the Metropolitan area. In the first year of the Xuantong reign (1909), the Ministry of Education submitted the “Memorial on Establishing the Metropolitan Library,” which was approved on September 9. Mou Zongsun was appointed as supervisor, Xu Fang as deputy supervisor, and Yang Xiongxian as chief administrator. The library was initially located at Guanghua Temple in Shichahai, and the following year, the Metropolitan Library was officially established, becoming the predecessor of the National Library of China.

　　　　When the Metropolitan Library was first built, its collection came from the Southern School of the Imperial College and the Grand Secretariat Archives, including books from the Ming Dynasty’s imperial Wenyuan Pavilion and precious editions from the Southern Song Dynasty’s Jixi Hall. It also acquired 8,000 volumes of Buddhist scriptures copied by Tang Dynasty monks found in the Mogao Caves, along with some notable private collections, totaling fewer than 100,000 volumes.

　　　　In 1912, after the founding of the Republic of China, Cai Yuanpei became the Minister of Education. In May, the Ministry of Education appointed Jiang Han as the director of the Metropolitan Library, which remained at Guanghua Temple. On August 27, the Metropolitan Library officially opened to the public and began receiving readers.

　　　　During his time working at the Ministry of Education, Lu Xun devoted significant effort to the Metropolitan Library. While serving as head of the first division of the Social Education Department and as an education official, he oversaw museums, libraries, art galleries, as well as literary, theatrical, and other cultural affairs. At the library’s opening, to enrich its holdings, in the autumn of 1912, Lu Xun, on behalf of the Ministry of Education, requested provincial government printing offices to transfer their published books to the Metropolitan Library. In 1913, he allocated a large printed encyclopedia, the Gujin Tushu Jicheng (Complete Collection of Illustrations and Writings from the Earliest to Current Times), in movable type, to the library. In April 1916, with the approval of the Ministry of the Interior obtained through the Political Affairs Hall, it was formally mandated that all publications registered with the Ministry of the Interior must send a copy to the Metropolitan Library for archiving, marking the library's beginning to perform important functions of a national library. In the same year, Lu Xun also acquired the most recently compiled local gazetteers from various provinces and regions for the library, and sought out rubbings of famous stone inscriptions and steles. The Yongle Encyclopedia (in fragments) and the Wenyuan Pavilion copy of the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries were also moved to the Metropolitan Library in 1915 following Lu Xun’s persistent advocacy.

　　　　In June 1913, due to Guanghua Temple’s remote location and damp, low-lying conditions, with the approval of the Ministry of Education, while searching for a new site, a branch library was set up outside Xuanwumen at Qianqingchang. In 1914, the branch was relocated to Yongguang Temple Street at the west entrance of Qianqingchang. In October, the Metropolitan Library suspended reading services and temporarily moved from Guanghua Temple to the Imperial College. In 1915, it was decided to establish the Metropolitan Library at the former site of the Southern School of the Imperial College at Fangjia Hutong inside Andingmen. On January 26, 1917, the Metropolitan Library reopened at Fangjia Hutong, with Lu Xun and some colleagues from the Ministry of Education attending the opening ceremony and having a commemorative photo taken. By this time, the Metropolitan Library had begun to take on the scale of a modern library.

　　　　In 1928, when the Nationalist government established its capital in Nanjing and set up a national library there, the Metropolitan Library was renamed the National Peking Library. Its location moved from Fangjia Hutong to Junren Hall in Zhongnanhai and it opened to the public in January 1929, with Ma Xulun briefly serving as director.

　　　　At that time, in addition to the National Peking Library, there was another library in Beijing known as the Peking Library, founded in 1926 by the China Foundation for the Promotion of Education and Culture. It was located in Beihai and rented spaces such as Qingxiao Tower, Yuexin Hall, Jingqi Pavilion, and Shan’an Hall, with Liang Qichao, the director of the Metropolitan Library, also serving as its director, and Li Siguang as deputy director. In August 1929, the National Peking Library and the Peking Library in Beihai merged, retaining the name National Peking Library. Cai Yuanpei served as director until his death in 1940, after which Deputy Director Yuan Tongli took over. At that time, work began on compiling a national union catalog of books and periodicals, further fulfilling the functions of a national library.

　　　　In 1931, the new library on Wenjin Street west of Beihai was completed, and the library joined the International Federation of Library Associations. Construction of the new building began on May 11, 1929. Some relics were moved from the ruins of the Old Summer Palace; a pair of ornamental columns in front of the main building closely resemble the pairs at Tiananmen; there is also a Kuí-shaped Kunlun stone inscribed with an imperial poem by Emperor Qianlong; inside the gate are two stone tablets, one being Qianlong’s imperial edict on archery instruction, the other being a monument in front of Wenyuan Pavilion, both featuring both Manchu and Chinese text; a pair of stone lions originally from the east gate of Changchun Garden stand outside the gate. The street in front of the library had no name previously but became known as Wenjin Street because the library housed the Wenyuan Pavilion copy of the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries.

　　　　Initially, the collection included books from the Jixi Hall of the Southern Song Dynasty’s royal library and the Wenyuan Pavilion of the Ming Dynasty’s royal library, as well as those from the Grand Secretariat Archives, remnants of the Yongle Encyclopedia from the Imperial Academy, the Southern School of the Imperial College, and Dunhuang manuscripts—totaling about 100,000 volumes. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the collection grew rapidly, increasing from 1.4 million volumes in 1949 to 14 million in 1979, although the book storage area only expanded fivefold. In October 1987, a new library was completed on the north side of Zizhuyuan, near Shiqiao Road in Haidian District, with a floor area of 140,000 square meters. It features a 19-story (plus three underground) book storage building, newspaper archive, and audiovisual materials building, capable of storing 20 million volumes. It is equipped with advanced facilities and comprehensive functions. The original Wenyin Street building was renamed as the branch library. By the end of 1990, the collection approached 16 million volumes. It became the largest and richest library in China and ranked among the top public libraries in the world.

　　　　The new library officially opened on July 1, 1931, and the entire collection of the Wenyuan Pavilion copy of the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries was moved into the new library. After the move, the previous ticketed entry system was abolished. The new building’s reading rooms offered more than 200 seats in a quiet environment surrounded by greenery, making it the largest and most advanced library in China and even the Far East at the time.

　　　　After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the library embraced a new era. On March 6, 1950, it was renamed the National Peking Library, and on June 12, 1951, it became the National Library of China.

　　　　With the growing cultural needs of the public, despite multiple expansions, the space at the Peking Library on Wenjin Street remained insufficient. In March 1975, upon the proposal and approval of Premier -, in November 1983, construction began on a new library at Baishiqiao Road in Haidian District, on the former site of the Yuan Dynasty’s Da Hu Guo Ren Wang Temple. The new library was completed and opened on October 6, 1987. Covering an area of 7.24 hectares with a floor space of 140,000 square meters, together with the Wenyin branch, the total area reached 170,000 square meters. The new library consists of 13 buildings connected by corridors, designed in traditional ethnic architectural style. The main book storage tower features a twin-tower design with 22 above-ground floors and 19 basement levels, including 3 underground storage floors, reaching a height of 61 meters. The exterior is clad in milky-white ceramic tiles, accented with blue glazed tiles, giving it a solemn and elegant appearance with impressive grandeur. Its collection is extraordinarily rich, encompassing ancient and modern works from China and abroad, with up to 20 million volumes (items), ranking fifth in the world. Its collection size and building area are the largest in Asia. On January 12, 1998, with the approval of the State Council, the National Library of China was renamed.

　　　　Location: Behind the back gate of Zhongnanhai, Xicheng District  Transportation Information
　　Transportation: Take bus routes 14, 101, 103, 109, or 814 and get off at Fuyou Street Station, on the north side of Wenjin Street.

　　 Beijing Xicheng District