Myriad venues

This exhibition might be one of the most sizable in China, because apart from the national library, around 220 libraries from around the country are simultaneously hosting the exhibition in their own venues.

The idea of hosting the exhibition in multiple libraries simultaneously was conceived last year. The organizers thought that despite hosting it at the National Library and online, there remains a large potential audience unexposed to these resources.

Through their own library system, the team then started recruiting and inviting interested libraries around the country to host the exhibition at their own venues. More than 180 libraries joined last year.

"Representatives from many regional libraries got in contact with us, and they gave us active and warm feedback," Dai says.

"We can't offer any funding to them. All we can offer are the exhibition designs and video resources. But these libraries are very keen in participating and organizing their own sub-exhibitions. This year when we started the recruitment once again, many libraries immediately signed up."

The national library is also collaborating with the Beijing MTR Corp to stage a series of nonprofit cultural events, including bringing the exhibition to some metro stations in the city.

Contact the writer at chengyuezhu@chinadaily.com.cn