If you’re friends with a bookworm, you know that the mere sight of bookshelves will get him or her very excited. Whether that’s just a shelf at the corner of your room, or rows and rows of shelves in a library, they will be drawn to it like magnet.
So imagine how ecstatic book lovers all over the world got when photos of the new library in China were released online. It’s floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and stunning interior got us all drooling over it.
But it turned out that it is not as impressive as it seems. In the main hall, the shelves we thought were filled with numerous books are in fact empty shelves– with painted books on it. There are a couple of books strategically positioned in certain areas, but they are just there for display and will be eventually removed.
According to the library’s deputy director, authorities didn’t allow books to be stored in the main hall because it was made for “circulation, sitting, reading and discussion, and not for book storage.” There are, however, rooms in the library were books will be stored on “regular” bookshelves.
Since it’s opening, the library already had 15,000 visitors. Imagine how they felt when they found out about the fake bookshelves.
The Tianjin Binhai library may have stunning architecture, but what’s the use of undulating shelves when there are no books?