The Shanghai Library East, which cost 2 billion yuan, is so fascinating that you could spend the whole day there without getting bored!

The Shanghai Library East, adjacent to Century Park and the Shanghai Museum East, is the largest single library in the country and also a popular destination for internet celebrities due to its many surprises. Designed by the SHL architectural firm, the Shanghai Library East is inspired by Taihu stones, with 80% of the building space dedicated to promoting and hosting community activities. The building's facade is made up of 3D-printed glass, each piece uniquely shaped and patterned. From a distance, it looks like jade stones floating above the tree canopy, embodying a sense of cultural care. The atrium spaces on different floors and locations are staggered and spiral upwards. There are various activities and experiences every weekend, including single/multi-person study pods, mobile phone temporary booths, book disinfection machines, and intelligent book return services. The Finnish chairs on the seventh floor are known as the most comfortable chairs of the 20th century. The library also houses numerous installation art pieces by artists such as Xu Bing, Gu Wenda, Emily Floyd, Ni Youyu, and Mia Liu. Every encounter here is vividly delightful. Especially the 'A Book from the Sky' installation by artist Xu Bing is the most photogenic. Over 800 English square word blocks with the word 'bird' written in different fonts fly out from the pages, reaching out the window, breaking conventional thinking, and awakening reading inspiration. The first floor is the children's area, and the fourth floor houses the new Shanghai General Chronicles Hall and the Manuscripts Hall. Only the first to third floors are open on Mondays, but you can enjoy a variety of audiobooks for free. There was also an encounter with a promotional exhibition for the 'Book of Songs', where I learned about the mythical creature Shao, which was responsible for guarding the garden of the Heavenly Emperor and had a status equivalent to Lu Wu, who guarded the Kunlun of the Queen Mother of the West. Shao also assisted the great Yu in killing the minister Xiang Liu of Gonggong. Di Jiang (Hong), the god of Tianshan, with six legs and four wings, is skilled in song and dance, resembling a yellow cloth bag.