Some 400 activities are held in the library annually. A large LED screen in the entrance hall plays the activities held in the previous week in a continuous loop and visitors can also find related pictures with captions on exhibition boards at a corner of the hall.
The government also bought a small bus that serves as a mobile library delivering books every day to towns and villages as well as poor and remote areas. More buses will be put into operation in the future, according to the librarian.
Local officials said the project aims to "let reading melt into people's daily lives".
Fan Lin, owner of a bookstore, said Zhangjiagang can be considered a "reading city" only when most of the residents choose reading in their spare time and do it consciously.
Different from other bookstores, Fan's store is totally nonprofit. He does not sell books in it, but provides a free place to read.
His "Endless Love Bookstore" has thousands of books covering literature, history, tourism, philosophy and Buddhism. All the books are his personal collection.
Reading a good book while drinking tea is a lifestyle the city should promote, Fan said. "People now have many troubles and are under great pressure, so I hope to offer a place for them to enjoy the calm and peace that only reading can bring."
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