Inside China's Most Instagrammable Library - Why Shanghai Libraries Feel So Global?

A few centuries ago, Shanghai was just another port city in China. Not a political capital, not a culture center. And who could have imagined that today it would become China's most global city? If there's one place that holds the answer, it must be this library. Hello my friends, I'm Cathy. Welcome back to Library Hunter. In this video, I'm taking you inside the Xu Jiahui Library to explore the stories behind the city and why this place changed the way I see Shanghai. If you've ever been to Shanghai, you've probably visited this modern district called Xu Jiahui or in the old Shanghainese pronunciation, Xi Jiahui. The name literally means the Xu family junction and it dates back to the late Ming dynasty. So who was this person and why does the entire district still carry his name? Don't worry, we'll come back to that very soon. On New Year's Day 2023, this new landmark officially opened. Since it opened, it receives an average of over 5,000 visitors per day, holding over 200,000 books and nearly 800 reading seats. Now one thing I should say first, if you are simply looking for a quiet place to browse shelves and read for hours, Shanghai has many other excellent libraries. I can recommend a few in the comments and maybe feature them in future episodes. While this new Xu Jiahui Library feels different, it's more modern, more multi-purpose, not just for reading but for gathering, exhibitions, events, and perhaps most importantly, it feels like a space where the city tells its own story. When we entered the library, the first thing that caught my eyes was the grand open central atrium From the atrium, we can see this most recognizable feature, the vaulted ceiling and the symmetrical columns along both sides. In the center of this atrium, you absolutely cannot miss this large glowing crystal structure called the Gate of Guangqi. This installation was made using large-scale 3D printing but it's actually based on a much older wooden arch from Tushanwan. The designers took the shape of the original wooden arch and reworked it digitally, turning it into this open form like lattice. That's why it looks light and almost transparent. If you ever visited a Chinatown abroad, for example, San Francisco, Boston, or London, you've probably seen a traditional Chinese arch at the entrance. That structure is called a Pailou. It usually marks a gateway and represents cultural identity. This installation is a reinterpretation of one of those. And what's interesting is that the original version still exists. Just a few hundred meters from here, inside the Tushanwan Museum, there's a wooden Pailou that was hand-carved in 1912. It was made by young orphan apprentices at a Tushanwan workshop under the guidance of a German missionary craftsman. Even back then, the design brought together traditional Chinese wood carving and Western artistic techniques. That wooden arch later traveled overseas, winning a top award at the 1915 World's Fair in San Francisco and other international expos. After that, however, it disappeared for decades. Parts of it were scattered and sold abroad. After decades of effort, it was rediscovered, restored, and brought back to Shanghai in 2009. And here in the library, you're looking at a modern tree created using robotic 3D printing, taking half a million lines of code to design, 50 days to print, and 1.8 tons of material, traditional craft plus new technology. That's really cool. Stretching across the atrium is a long communal table where 50 people can read together. To be honest, this might not be the quietest place to read considering the vast photo shoot location, but you can definitely find some quieter spots upstairs to read or study. I might forget to mention, this is something I always find very practical and fun at the same time in Chinese libraries, book disinfection machines. You place your books inside, leave them open and standing on their spine, close the door, little pulses of UV light plus airflow runs a quick cycle to help reduce bacteria and dust on the pages. That is so thoughtful. Another detail that I really liked was that there is an entire wall dedicated to English books, classics literature, modern novels, fictions and non-fictions, fantasy series. You will not be bored. Of course, English books are not rare in China anymore. I wouldn't be surprised to find foreign books in Chinese libraries now, but seeing them displayed at this large scale, that felt really Shanghai. On both sides of the atrium, the library uses a combination of main floors and mezzanine levels to create eight themed spaces featuring integrated bookshelves of different shapes, making sure readers have easy access to Shanghai themed collections. It feels almost like a museum. Now coming back to this question, who is the man that gave this entire district its name? Xu Guangqi was one of the most forward-thinking intellectuals in 17th century China, one of the first Chinese scholars to truly open his eyes to the world. He worked with the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci to translate the first six books of Euclid's Elements. For the first time, boosting intellectual exchange between China and Europe. If you'd like to hear more about Matteo Ricci and that East and West culture exchange, I actually made another video talking with librarians at the Ricci Institute at Boston College. It was such a thoughtful conversation, and I will put the link below. But today, I want to focus on Xu himself. Interestingly, for a long time, even many Shanghainese only knew his name without really knowing what he actually did. But recently, that's been changing. It's a bit like how Americans knew the name Alexander Hamilton, but it was the modern Broadway musical that made his story feel alive again. In 2022, a new opera about the life of Xu Guangqi was premiered in Shanghai. The following year, this modern Xu Jiahui library opened to the public, bringing his legacy back into public view. Four centuries ago, he stood at the crossroads of science, politics, and cultural exchange. He introduced new architectural techniques to fight famine. He helped reform the imperial calendar using astronomy, recalibrating how people back then understood about time and the cosmos. And of course, it wasn't easy. Introducing unfamiliar ideas means facing doubts, fear, and even opposition from his own peers. But in the end, his commitment left a lasting mark. I actually lived in Shanghai for four years, and back then, I barely knew his name. So coming back this time, learning his story through the library space, it honestly opened up a whole new way of seeing Shanghai for me. After he passed away, his descendants settled near his burial site. Over time, this area became known as Xu Jiahui, the Xu family junction. And today, this library stands right here, keeping that global curiosity alive. This space at B1 level is called East-West Park, Dongxi Gongyuan, reflecting that spirit of an east and west fusion. My favorite part is the 24-meter seaside corridor, inspired by the artists of Shikumen architecture, but rendered in white metal mesh. That's really beautiful. Along the corridor, there are traditional Chinese fork elements displayed along the wall. On this level, I also noticed that this library has the first fully automated smart book stacks among all public libraries in Shanghai. It contains around 80,000 books. Robots guided by cheap-based positioning technology can retrieve the books with impressive precision. This is especially helpful for readers who don't even have time to enter the building. You just reserve the book from your phone. The robots retrieves the books almost immediately and is placed in a self-service locker in the basement space or near the main entrance, ready for pickup. So in a fast-paced city like Shanghai, you don't even have to step inside the library. There's literally no excuse not to read. I love that idea. The whole concept of Shanghai Spirit has a dedicated name, Haipai Wenhua, rooted in traditional Wuyue heritage and shaped through centuries of engagement with the wider world. Over time, Shanghai became the place where new ideas arrived first. Foreign trade, modern banking, global architecture, modern art, and all kinds of authentic international cuisine. At the same time, waves of people from Europe, America, and across Asia made their way here. Very early on, the Shanghai city learned how to partner with the world and turn those collaborations into something uniquely its own. Just last year, the city welcomed over 9 million international visitors, which is a record high, and with millions more traveling from across China for food, culture, and that unique Shanghai experience. And myself, coming back after 10 years, walking through this library for the first time, I can somehow feel that the city is going the extra mile to help younger generations to understand its history and carry forward that same open, connected mindset. Thank you so much for watching. This episode is part of my China Library series, so feel free to check out the previous episodes in Wuhan and Beijing, and there will be more coming up. See you next time. Bye! 我们永远为这个城市留一盏灯