Chongqing celebrates World Book Day with subway book machines

Ten self-service book borrowing and returning machines were installed Thursday in multiple subway stations in nine Chongqing districts to celebrate World Book Day.

The social welfare program "Palm-sized Books" offers 24-hour free book borrowing for the city's nine-to-fivers, students and tourists using subway transportation. The project was initiated by the Chongqing Municipal Culture and Tourism Commission and is jointly operated by Chongqing Rail Transit, local public libraries and publishing institutions.

The program's launch ceremony was held on Thursday at the Zengjiayan Railway Station of Chongqing Rail Transit Line 2 in Chongqing's Yuzhong district.

According to the Chongqing Municipal Culture and Tourism Commission, 20,000 books for adults and children covering categories such as politics, economics, literature, history, geography and popular science are ready to be placed on shelves. Forty more machines will be deployed for use before the end of June.

In February last year, the southwestern municipality completed the construction of a 500-kilometer urban rail transit line, which is said to be the world's largest rail transit network in a mountainous area. The total of 50 intelligent machines in 50 subway stations across the city's CRT Line 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, and the Loop Line are expected to cover a passenger flow of over 100 million yearly.

The commission said that "Palm-sized Books" will also be promoted to the Chengdu-Chongqing High-Speed Railway in the future.