The rural library in Tianzhuang village, Hai'an enriches the after-school life of left-behind children. [Photo/WeChat account: hafbwx]

Tianzhuang village in Hai'an, a county-level city of Nantong, has over the last few years constructed a high-standards rural library to boost rural revitalization by providing a "cultural granary" where villagers can increase their knowledge.

The library is divided into several function zones such as an e-reading area and a child reading area. It has a collection of more than 12,000 books, containing six categories of politics and economy, culture, science and technology, life, children and general interest.

The Tianzhuang village rural library was listed among the provincial five-star rural libraries and named a national demonstration rural library in 2019.

"With this rural library, it is more convenient for us to look up information on agricultural production and gain more anti-epidemic and sanitation knowledge," said Ding Liansheng from Tianzhuang village. "The well-received library is our 'charging station'."

Children's education is a matter of great importance and urgency in Tianzhuang village in that there are many left-behind kids in the village. To enrich their after-school life the village established a "4:30 pm school" in the library and hired retired teachers and college graduates-turned village officials to provide study guidance and interest training for the pupils.

Hai'an has taken rural library construction as a people-centered program in recent years. To date, 231 rural libraries in the city have been built, achieving full coverage of all villages.