Today's Suzhou has more than 30 public organizations with collections of ancient books, the total number exceeding 1 million, of which some 319 are listed in the national directory of precious ancient books, ranking the top in China's prefecture-level cities.

"In setting up the library of ancient books, the city (Suzhou) has arranged for a venue and hired specialized personnel to preserve its collection and allow the public access to it. Suzhou Library has been an exemplar in serving society," Zhang says.

Zhang says he hopes that prefecture-level cities with a developed local economy and rich historical resources, such as from the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta areas, and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, can learn from Suzhou's example and establish specialized libraries to upgrade their preservation of ancient books and services in traditional culture popularization.

Zhou Furong contributed to this story.

Contact the writer at chengyuezhu@chinadaily.com.cn