KUNMING,May11(Xinhua)--CrossingthedoublerainbowbridgeattheentranceofHeshunancienttowninsouthwestChina'sYunnanProvincerevealsatwo-storybuildingblendingChineseandWesternarchitecturalstyles.
ThisisHeshunLibraryinthecityofTengchong,alibraryboastingaround130,000volumes,includingnumerousinvaluableancientbooks,andahistoryspanningoveracentury.
In1924,inspiredbyprogressiveideas,younglocalsinremoteHeshunrecognizedtheimportanceofknowledge,wisdom,andexternalinformationforthevillage'sprospectstoprogress.DespitethechallengeoflongdelaysinreceivingperiodicalsfromShanghaiduetoHeshun'ssouthwesternlocation,theyresolvedtoestablishareadingandnewspapersociety,therebylayingthefoundationfortoday'sHeshunLibrary.
Atthattime,booksandnewspaperswerepurchasedfromShanghai,shippedbyseatoMyanmar,thentransportedbyriverboatinMyanmar,beforefinallybeingcarriedbyhorsestoHeshun.
ThepeopleofHeshunadvocatereading,andtheirtraditionofvaluingbothfarmingandstudyinghasbeenpasseddownthroughgenerations.
CunYu,thecurrentcuratorofHeshunLibrary,saidthatafterabusydayoffarming,localswouldrushtothelibrarytoread,andtheirpassionforreadinghasmadethetownrenownedasaculturalhubbothfarandwide.
Thisbordertownishometolessthan8,000people,butnearly3,000ofthemhaveobtainedlibrarycards,asmostofthevillagersthereareliterate.
"IgotmylibrarycardatHeshunLibrarywhenIwas9yearsold,"saidCunYu.Threegenerationsofhisfamilyhaveworkedatthelibrary,withhisgreat-grandfatherbeingoneofitsfounders.
"HeshunLibraryisourplaceoflearningandenlightenment,"saidCunQinghua,aretiredteacherfromthetown'scentralprimaryschool,whohasbeenvisitingthelibraryforover50years.
"Whenwewereyoung,theresourceswerelimited,andwehadtousehandwrittencatalogcardstosearchforbooks,butnowelectronicbookretrievalismuchfaster,andtheresourcesmuchricher,"CunQinghuasaidwhenreferringtothelibrary'supdateddigitalservices.
Inadditiontoelectronicbookdownloads,ancientbooksearches,andinformationinquiries,thelibraryalsoprovidesregularupdatesonactivitiesrelatedtotraditionalfestivals,servingasaplatformforculturalandhistoricalexhibitions,andearningpraisefromreadersandvisitorsalike,accordingtoZhangLifei,astaffmemberofHeshunLibrary.
Zhangsaidthatthelibraryregularlyinvitesrenownedexpertsandscholarstogivelectures,whichareopentolocalresidentsandtourists.
Thelibraryalsosetsupareadingprogramforchildreninthecommunitybyhostingavarietyofeducationalactivitiessuchasreadingpromotions,calligraphy,andpaintingtraining,andmakesanefforttopromoteChinesetraditionalculture.Currently,27sessionshavebeenheld,benefitingmorethan5,000children.
Nowadays,HeshunLibraryhasevolvedfromareadingsocietycoveringonlyafewsquaremeterstoamodernrurallibraryspanningmorethan6,000squaremeters.
Fromhandwrittencatalogcardstomodernlibraryretrievalsystems,andfromatraditionallibrarythatonlyprovidedbookborrowingservicestoacomprehensivemultifunctionallibraryintegratingtourism,culturalrelics,andpublicculturalservices,HeshunLibraryhasevolvedandstillcontinuestoinnovateandexpanditsfunctions,providingmoreconvenientpublicculturalservicesforthemassesandnurturingthespiritualworldsofthepeopleofHeshun.