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China Elevator Stories
A Visit to the Library in Siping
I recently went to the local library with my children.
28/10/2025
Ruth Silbermayr
Author
I recently took my children to a public library in Siping. This was the first time I visited a library like this one in China. The process of getting a library card for a teacher like me used to feel too complicated at the university I worked for, and I had heard that people were lining up in the mornings to get a place in the library, which was also one reason why I decided not to go to the local library. I tend to read more in English and German than in Chinese anyway, so going to a Chinese library was not really at the top of my list.
My older son tends to read a lot, just like I did as a kid. He is completely addicted to reading books and is a fast reader on top of that. He was born a reader—even when he was little, he wanted me to read him children’s books, and no matter how tired he already was, he tended to ask me to read more books to him even after I had already read him three books.
During my second pregnancy, I tended to be so exhausted that I couldn’t read more than three books, but sometimes I would agree to read four.
Now that he has already mastered thousands of Chinese characters, he can read Chinese books by himself. His favorite series is the Harry Potter series, and he read all seven of the books within a short amount of time. I was checking and rechecking when I realized he had been reading the first book in just a few hours. But he knew so much about the content that he truly had! I didn’t know it was possible to read it that fast because I remembered it took me a few weeks the first time I read it in English as a teenager (though I had to translate quite a few words when I initially did so).
The library in Siping was interesting since it had a section just for kids. One section was for smaller kids, where parents could join their children to read books with them. The other section was for kids who were already able to read, and parents weren’t allowed to join but had to wait outside for their kids.
So, while my kids went to the library to search for books they were interested in, I looked around to see what else it offered.
The building was cold and boring, not cozy, and not inviting enough for people to want to stay for longer. I have been to a few libraries in my life, mostly in Austria, but these are cozier, and sitting down there and relaxing while reading a book is a great experience.
The library in Siping, though it offered no coffee machine to get a cup of instant coffee while waiting for your kids, had a small exhibition featuring art created by local farmers. I looked at the pictures until my younger son left the children’s library space to explore the rest of the library since he also found it not very enticing. My older son joined us a little later and also wasn’t too positive about the collection of books they had.
I remember the libraries I visited in Austria, and though a library is a great idea in any city, in my opinion, this one was truly not particularly welcoming.
I used to either borrow books from libraries or study there during my studies in Vienna. My institute featured a small university library where we stayed to study, since it could be too distracting to study at home. I also went there to skim through books I could borrow, as it had a selection of books about China, including Chinese literature (often translated into English or German), Chinese history, and society. One of my friends and I also tended to go to the old, beautiful library of the main building at the University of Vienna to study. We spent hours and hours memorizing Chinese characters by heart, studying by the light of green library lamps and old books on shelves at the back of the library.
We tended to meet up to study together, not just because being home could be too distracting (there’s always something to clean up at home, or other distractions), but also as accountability buddies—if one person was sitting next to you studying diligently, it tended to be more motivating for the other person to keep on studying as well.
Have you ever been to a library in China?