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Photos: China’s futuristic Binhai library is less books, more fiction

The Tianjin Binhai Library has book lovers around the world drooling over its unending shelves, teeming with books since it opened a month ago. It's been described as the "world's best library" by some, but there's only one problem. Rows upon rows of book spines here are just images printed on the aluminium plates that make up the backs of shelves.

Updated on: Nov 17, 2017 3:25 PM IST

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A woman takes a selfie at the Tianjin Binhai Library. This futuristic Chinese library has wowed book lovers around the world with its white, undulating shelves rising from floor to ceiling, but read between the lines and you’ll find something is missing. Those rows upon rows of book spines are mostly images printed on aluminium plates that make up the backs of shelves. (Fred Dufour / AFP)

Updated on Nov 17, 2017 3:25 PM

A woman takes a selfie at the Tianjin Binhai Library. This futuristic Chinese library has wowed book lovers around the world with its white, undulating shelves rising from floor to ceiling, but read between the lines and you’ll find something is missing. Those rows upon rows of book spines are mostly images printed on aluminium plates that make up the backs of shelves. (Fred Dufour / AFP)

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Designed by Dutch architectural firm MVRDV, the building looks like an eye when viewed from the still unfinished park outside, with a spherical auditorium as the iris at its centre. It contains 200,000 books and has grand ambitions to grow its collection to 1.2 million. (Fred Dufour / AFP)

Updated on Nov 17, 2017 3:25 PM

Designed by Dutch architectural firm MVRDV, the building looks like an eye when viewed from the still unfinished park outside, with a spherical auditorium as the iris at its centre. It contains 200,000 books and has grand ambitions to grow its collection to 1.2 million. (Fred Dufour / AFP)

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Pictures of the sleek Tianjin Binhai Library have gone viral on Chinese social media and abroad since it opened last month, with headlines calling it the “world’s best library” and a “book lover’s dream”. As a result, on weekends, an average of 15,000 visitors flock to the six-storey space in the eastern port city of Tianjin. (Fred Dufour / AFP)

Updated on Nov 17, 2017 3:25 PM

Pictures of the sleek Tianjin Binhai Library have gone viral on Chinese social media and abroad since it opened last month, with headlines calling it the “world’s best library” and a “book lover’s dream”. As a result, on weekends, an average of 15,000 visitors flock to the six-storey space in the eastern port city of Tianjin. (Fred Dufour / AFP)

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But readers expecting to pluck tomes from its terraced shelves are in for a surprise. Most books are in other rooms with more classic library bookshelves. “There’s quite a big difference between the photos and reality,” said Jiang Xue, a 21-year-old medical student left perusing one of the more robustly stocked sections: propaganda about the ruling Communist Party’s recent congress. (Fred Dufour / AFP)

Updated on Nov 17, 2017 3:25 PM

But readers expecting to pluck tomes from its terraced shelves are in for a surprise. Most books are in other rooms with more classic library bookshelves. “There’s quite a big difference between the photos and reality,” said Jiang Xue, a 21-year-old medical student left perusing one of the more robustly stocked sections: propaganda about the ruling Communist Party’s recent congress. (Fred Dufour / AFP)

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The original concept was for the upper bookshelves to be accessible via rooms behind the atrium, but a fast-tracked schedule forced MVRDV to drop the idea. Liu Xiufeng, the library’s deputy director says the final plans stated that the atrium would be used for circulation, sitting, reading, and discussion, but omitted a key request to store books on shelves. (Fred Dufour / AFP)

Updated on Nov 17, 2017 3:25 PM

The original concept was for the upper bookshelves to be accessible via rooms behind the atrium, but a fast-tracked schedule forced MVRDV to drop the idea. Liu Xiufeng, the library’s deputy director says the final plans stated that the atrium would be used for circulation, sitting, reading, and discussion, but omitted a key request to store books on shelves. (Fred Dufour / AFP)

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The library has another quirk: Its irregular white stairs have proven hazardous for selfie-snappers with eyes glued down to their phones or up at the stylish ceiling. “People trip a lot. Last week an old lady slipped and hit her head hard. There was blood,” said one guard, who yells warnings at visitors. (Fred Dufour / AFP)

Updated on Nov 17, 2017 3:25 PM

The library has another quirk: Its irregular white stairs have proven hazardous for selfie-snappers with eyes glued down to their phones or up at the stylish ceiling. “People trip a lot. Last week an old lady slipped and hit her head hard. There was blood,” said one guard, who yells warnings at visitors. (Fred Dufour / AFP)

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“We can only use the hall for the purposes for which it has been approved, so we cannot use it as a place to put books,” Liu laughed, hinting that the few books that remain on shelves might also be removed soon. The Binhai library’s viral image however has boosted readership, with checkouts quadrupling since the opening. (Fred Dufour / AFP)

Updated on Nov 17, 2017 3:25 PM

“We can only use the hall for the purposes for which it has been approved, so we cannot use it as a place to put books,” Liu laughed, hinting that the few books that remain on shelves might also be removed soon. The Binhai library’s viral image however has boosted readership, with checkouts quadrupling since the opening. (Fred Dufour / AFP)

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Sustaining membership however may prove difficult in a country where readers increasingly flip through novels on smartphones. “I don’t usually touch real books,” Yuan Jiwen, a visitor said, holding an unread paperback as a prop while he people-watched in the atrium. “But it feels appropriate to be holding one here.” (Fred Dufour / AFP)

Updated on Nov 17, 2017 3:25 PM

Sustaining membership however may prove difficult in a country where readers increasingly flip through novels on smartphones. “I don’t usually touch real books,” Yuan Jiwen, a visitor said, holding an unread paperback as a prop while he people-watched in the atrium. “But it feels appropriate to be holding one here.” (Fred Dufour / AFP)

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