Mexico City locals will be able to get acquainted with Chinese culture and history through the newly opened Chinese Library. (Photo : Getty Images)
The Shanghai Library now has an Indian section, thanks to a donation from the Indian consulate that multiplied the library's collection from 15 books to 377.
India's Consul General Prakash Gupta delivered 133 books in English, 129 in Hindi, and 100 exclusively on Indian poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, the state-owned Global Times newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Gupta said the Indian consulate has had a long-standing relationship with the Shanghai Library, and both sides agreeing that a section on Indian literature would be a good opportunity to showcase quality publications from India for Chinese readers.
"We do hope that book lovers from Shanghai will get to develop a better appreciation of Indian ideas, Indian values, Indian culture and the Indian way of life," Gupta told the Global Times.
"Even though India and China are neighbors, there is a considerable information gap between our two countries, in particular at the common people's level. We do hope that through this attempt of ours, book readers from Shanghai will get to know more about India and its diversity".
The books cover a wide variety of topics, including Indian art forms, culture, philosophy, history and music as well as biographical profiles. Some of the books explore Indian architectural icons like the Taj Mahal and Indian cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad.
"In that sense, the criteria for selection was basically aimed to provide readers from Shanghai an overall and comprehensive understanding of India's democracy, its culture and history," Gupta said, adding that several of the books are not commonly available in bookshops or other libraries in China.
The books can now be found in the Foreign Language Books area on the fourth floor of the library.
Zhou Qing, the International Cooperation Division officer of the Shanghai Library and coordinator of the donation, emphasized the significance of the section in enriching the library's resources and fostering multiculturalism.
"I believe readers can make good use of these books to an extent that goes beyond our imagination. However, because we only have a single copy of each so far, we have to limit it to in-library reading instead of borrowing," Zhou said.
