Turning a new page for village readers

Li was impressed by a girl named Liu Caijin. About a decade ago, the girl often came to her library to read. A primary school student, she was too short to reach the bookshelves, so she'd move wooden stools to reach up.

One day, Li asked her what she wanted to become in the future. To her surprise, Liu said, "I also want to open a store which has a library, providing books for people to read for free."

"Now she is at a university, and I know she will not open a store. But I'm still moved when I remember her words. As the saying goes, it takes 10 years to grow a tree yet 100 years to bring up a person. Cultivating people is never something that can be done in a short time. I have often questioned if my library is meaningful, because it's so small. But at that moment, her words of affirmation consolidated my resolution to persist," says Li.

Many children who read books at the library have now grown up and as adults they support Li in their own ways. For example, some of them donate books to Li, some work as volunteers and others hold activities in the library.

With the growing popularity of her library, more support from society was offered to her work. With donations from nonprofit organizations, the library was renovated several times, tackling problems like water leakage. Book donations have continued to pour in.

"Now the pressure to run the library does not feel so heavy. Weiguang Library can continue to play a role today because many people have poured their love into it," says Li.

She has also worked to build the library into a cultural activity center, encouraging villagers to give lectures and participate in manual courses and scientific experiments. This has turned the library into an additional classroom for the villagers.