An avid reader in Hebei province is being recognized for borrowing more than 300 library books in one year.

"I like literature and started to write stories when I was young," said Zhang Shiqi, 59, who borrowed 335 books from the city library in Shijiazhuang between April 1, 2015 to April 1 this year.

Zhang goes to library at least once a week, a habit he's maintained for 20 years.

Reference books and literature are the two main categories of books he borrows.

"My work often needs me to search references and I can't find them on the Internet," he said.

At first he bought books that he needed, but those cost a lot money.

"Once, I spent 1,000 yuan ($166) on reference books just in one week," Zhang noted.

But the information he used in these books only covered a little of the information for his work, which made him feel like he was "burning money" on useless content.

Six years ago, when he found that the library had almost all the reference books he needed, he became a regular visitor.

"I have to use computers a lot during my work and my eyes hurt after working for a long time. However, reading paper books is more comfortable. To me, reading them is fun," Zhang said.

He can borrow six books each time according to the rule of the library, and one of them must be related to literature. What's more, Zhang often jots down the paragraphs and sentences in a volume that he likes.

The library rewarded him for his steadfastness by giving him a series of Cao Wenxuan's classics.

"Now I am encouraged by the award and have more energy to read books. All my worries disappear when I am in the world of books," Zhang said, laughing.