(Photo/Zhou Xian)

Nanjing Library opened a touring exhibition of treasures collected by public libraries in Jiangsu Province's 13 cities on October 20, the first of its kind in the coastal province.

Public libraries in Jiangsu have more than 3 million ancient books, accounting for 13% of the total in the country's public libraries. The province has 1,422 books included in the National Catalogue of Precious Ancient Books since 2008, 10.9% of the total in the catalogue and also highest among province-level regions.

This touring exhibition shows more than 140 types of collections, including books engraved in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Visitors can also see the earliest French version of Journey to the West, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, a collection of Lianyungang Library.

The exhibition hall also has an interactive zone to help readers learn about the woodblock printing technique and experience the charm of ancient books.