CHONGQING: A mobile library on a train opened to the public in Chongqing on Thursday. It is the first of its kind in the municipality, according to the Chongqing section of China Railway Chengdu Group Co, the operator.
Staff member Zhong Jie said the train (No 5609/5610) that runs between central Chongqing and the city’s Xiushan county — spanning 406 kilometers in about eight hours each way — is a public welfare “slow train”, running up to 50 kilometers per hour.
She said the train stops at many small railway stations through the city’s Youyang Tujia and Miao autonomous county, Pengshui Miao and Tujia autonomous county, Xiushan county and the Wulong, Fuling and Changshou districts. It has not only provided local farmers with a channel to sell their agricultural products and livestock outside their hometown markets but has also served as a sort of bus for students to travel back and forth to school.
Considering this, a mobile “study carriage” transformation plan was initiated by the Chongqing section. Some of the passenger seats in the No 3 carriage were removed, and study desks and chairs were installed by the windows. Readers can study and appreciate the natural beauty along the line.
Zhang Bingmei, deputy director of the Chongqing Library said more than 1,000 books are provided in the mobile library, covering various categories. The collection includes classic works and popular science books for teenagers on board.
–The Daily Mail-China
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