Tianyi Pavilion Library, China's oldest library, has opened to visitors on weekend evenings, in an effort to satisfy public demand.

The library, located in eastern Chinese city of Ningbo, opened to the public from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. this Friday and Saturday. It was the first time that the ancient library has held a nighttime opening, the Hangzhou-based Dushikuaibao reported on Sunday.

The decision was met with positive feedback. Visitors expressed contentment at seeing the Ningbo's most famous point of interest at night, and some were seen excitedly taking photos in the garden.

He Hongyu, vice director of Tianyi Museum, said many Ningbo citizens and non-local tourists found that just half a day wasn't enough time for them to fully utilize the library, while others had expressed wishes to enjoy the evening scenes in Tianyi Pavilion's garden.

A ticket for a night visit costs 10 yuan (about 1.36 U.S. dollars), only half of the price of the day ticket. But visitors are advised to preorder tickets, since only 2,000 lucky people are allowed to enter the library each day.

The administration also selected more than 1,000 precious ancient books from the total holdings of 160,000 to display in the library. Most of them are first-class cultural relics never before exhibited in public.

Next year, Tianyi Pavilion Library will open its digital library. At that time, Internet users will have access to nearly 300,000 priceless ancient books online.

Built during the period from 1561 to 1566 in West Ningbo, Tianyi Pavilion is a famous old library which once housed an enormous collection of rare volumes, including block-printed and hand-copied books and manuscripts. Most of the original collection was lost, but a special agency has been created to restore the books in the archives. The current collection totals 300,000 volumes, many of which are original books of the library that have been rediscovered, and a great number donated by individuals.

(CRI December 17, 2007)