Nantong, January 12 (Xinhua) -- The Nantong Overseas Chinese Library (hereinafter referred to as "the Overseas Chinese Library") held its 2025 Volunteer Annual Meeting in Nantong on the evening of January 11. During the event, the Overseas Chinese Library announced that it will establish overseas book-sharing stations in four countries, namely Spain, Myanmar, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States, and signed agreements with relevant Chinese language schools and overseas Chinese associations.
The four overseas book-sharing stations of overseas Chinese libraries are: the Ino Language and Culture Center Book-Sharing Station in Spain, the Sheng Hua Chinese School Book-Sharing Station in Mandalay, Myanmar, the Great Wall Academy Book-Sharing Station in Dubai, UAE, and the Shanghai Friendship Association Book-Sharing Station in Seattle, USA. In addition, two domestic book-sharing stations signed agreements during the event.
Zhen Xiang, the initiator of the Overseas Chinese Library, introduced the library's key work priorities for 2026. He stated that in addition to the construction of book-sharing stations, the Overseas Chinese Library will also focus on "Celebrating Chinese Culture and Connecting the World Through Books," collaborating with high-quality Chinese schools and overseas Chinese book-sharing stations to carry out the "Reading China for Children Across the World" series of reading activities. Simultaneously, it will hold transnational events such as a Year of the Horse-themed reading and bookmark creation competition, a "China-Thailand Cultural Salon," a "Chinese History Reading Day" in the Philippines, and a "Chinese Reading Season" in Argentina.
In addition, the Overseas Chinese Library plans to carry out reading activities on the theme of overseas Chinese culture, touring exhibitions of books exchanged between China and foreign countries, and organize Chinese teachers and students volunteers to read together with overseas Chinese youth.
In terms of the protection of overseas Chinese history and cultural relics, the Overseas Chinese Library will rely on overseas Chinese book exchange stations and overseas Chinese communities to collect valuable materials such as family letters, manuscripts, historical documents, and old photos from overseas Chinese, establish a special database of overseas Chinese history materials, expand its collection of books on overseas Chinese history, and create a special area for displaying overseas Chinese history and culture.
In terms of connecting China and the world, the Overseas Chinese Library will play a platform role, linking various community groups with overseas Chinese businesses and economic and trade organizations to build information exchange channels, and hold matchmaking and exchange activities around themes such as industrial cooperation and cultural integration to promote two-way linkage between local resources and overseas markets.
The event also recognized outstanding individual volunteers and teams, as well as individuals and teams who evoked感动 (touching moments) of the year. (End)
