Xiaosong Library, Jiangsu province
南京晓书馆
Address: 52 Fengyou Temple, Qinhuai district, Nanjing city, Jiangsu province
Opening hours: 10 am-9 am (Tuesday to Sunday)
Closed Mondays
Tel: (86-25)82263539
Founded by the famous Chinese musician, director, and writer Gao Xiaosong, the Xiaosong Library in Nanjing city, East China’s Jiangsu province has been open since 2019. Inspired by the City Wall of Nanjing, the designer of this public library applied some ancient elements to its interior. Visitors to the library may feel like they have passed the gate of the city wall and are going back and forth between the walls of different fields of knowledge.
Why it’s special
The Xiaosong Library is home to about 40,000 books, some of which were selected by Gao himself. To help readers pinpoint and return books, the library marks books with different colors to classify them.
A list of books recommended by Gao was based on the different stages of a person's growth, including high-quality children's books. Thus, in the Xiaosong Library, there is a reading area for children that boasts many interesting picture books.
When visitors feel tired of reading, they can loosen up in body and mind in the library’s cafe. In addition, the Xiaosong Library regularly invites cultural figures to share their experiences and communicate with readers and also holds well-curated art exhibitions.