On Nov. 29, the opening ceremony of Suzhou Museum of Ancient Books was held at the Suzhou Library, making Suzhou the first prefecture-level city in the country to have such a museum. Jin Jie, director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Suzhou Municipal Committee, attended the event and unveiled the plaque for the museum.
In Suzhou, one of the first historical and cultural cities in China, there are more than 30 public institutions collecting ancient books, with a collection of 1 million copies of ancient books. More than 160,000 ancient books, including 20,000 rare ones, are housed in the Suzhou Library. And 124 kinds of ancient books have been listed as rare ancient books of China. The new museum of ancient books, which is located in the Suzhou Library, is planned to emerge as an important platform for the preservation and research of ancient books. Its Xuegu Hall, an ancient books-themed exhibition hall on the first floor of the Suzhou Library, is open to the public for free.