National Library of China -old photos-Photo Album-ccnpic


	Alongside Purple Bamboo Park in Beijing's Haidian District stands the main National Library of China (NLC), its architecture perfectly blending a splendid facade with a graceful solemnity. As the third largest national library in the world, covering 250,000 square meters, it embraces three components: the first phase of construction (1987), the second phase (2008), and the NLC Library of Ancient Books, west of Beihai Park. The National Library of China developed out of the Metropolitan Library, established at Guanghua Temple in Beijing on 9 September 1909. The library was open to the public on 27 August 1912, and officially started to receive legal deposit copies of domestic publications in 1916, marking the launch of the library's performance of some of the requisite functions of a national library. The ensuing years witnessed many changes in the names and locations of the library, including in 1931, when new premises were completed on Wenjin Street (now the site of the NLC's Ancient Books Library). The NLC became the largest and most advanced library in China in the early 1930s. Many famous scholars and scientists participated in the planning and operation of the library, including the writer Lu Xun, the historian Liang Qichao, the educator Cai Yuanpei and the geologist Li Siguang – all eminent figures in China's modern history. The library was renamed the "Beijing Library" after the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949. The PRC's first Premier, Zhou Enlai proposed and obtained authorization to construct a new building for the library, located on Baishiqiao Road in Beijing's western suburbs. In 1987, when the new building was completed, Deng Xiaoping wrote the calligraphic inscription for the library's name. On 12 December 1998, the State Council approved its renaming as the "National Library of China." Then President Jiang Zemin wrote the inscription for the new name on 16 April 1999. Phase It's modernized construction, incorporating the latest in digital technologies, was completed in June 2008 and opened to the public on 9 September 2008. The National Digital Library Project, launched with Phase II, will become an online knowledge center and information database, with the scope of virtual services extended beyond physical time and space limitations. [Back]