Espousing the Chinese saying: “A good book is a good friend,” the library stacked full of books with old and new in different ways will promote friendship and understanding between China and Bangladesh.

Dhaka’s bookworms have been flocking to the library to thumb through its informative and interesting China-related publications.

The library has drawn the attention of people of different ages, particularly youngsters, because it offers a plethora of ways to gain a myriad of information about “all things China,” through thousands of books, magazines and other documents.

Mohammad Russell Ahmed Zahid, an undergraduate student, for a long time had been searching for a place to study exclusively about China or Chinese affairs.

“I had no idea about a suitable place (in Dhaka) where I could obtain a wide range of information about broad aspects related to China. But now I’m a member of this fantastic library, I’ve been able to learn so much about China and for me, it’s fascinating,” Zahid said.

M. Munir-uz-Zaman, former Bangladesh’s Ambassador to the Philippines and former secretary of the Bangladeshi government, now has ample spare time and opportunity to study foreign affairs, particularly those related to Southeast Asia.

“This is the first time in Dhaka that such a facility has been established exclusively for studying Chinese literature, Chinese industry and various Chinese topics,” he said.

“China is our friend and has been helping us. It’s a great feeling that through the BCFC initiative, there is now a library underscoring our friendship.”

The well-arranged library was proving to be particularly useful for students, he said, hoping the library would continue to thrive and inform, entertain and influence for many years to come.

BCFC President M. Delwar Hossain said they have been working as a bridge for four decades to promote friendship between the people of China and those of Bangladesh.

Due to the language barrier, however, he said Bangladeshi people had previously found it hard to learn much about China.

“The Bangladesh-China Friendship Center has been through a lot of hardships in establishing this library, but we hope now that the people of Bangladesh have an easier way to access accurate Chinese information,” he said.

“We want Bangladesh people to come to understand about Chinese historical, cultural and political developments and how Chinese leaders, past and present, have contributed to the world,” Hossain added.

The BCFC president went on to say that there are many historical books that have been translated into English and Bengali and have been collected from different countries.

At the same time, he said, Chinese or China-related books, including one biography about Deng Xiaoping, written and published here, are also in the library as part of its efforts to provide accurate information about China to the Bangladeshi people.

Established in the Banani area, one of the central places in Dhaka, the library will attract young learners from the 20 surrounding universities, colleges and other institutes, to come to learn more about China’s remarkable developments.

To improve the library’s activities, the BCFC has developed a fine arts department and the library also provides language lessons, so locals have the opportunity to learn to speak and read Chinese.

“We believe that reading books, studying language and fine arts, as well as cultural exchanges with China, will really help cement Bangladesh-China friendship ties and elevate relations between the two countries,” said Hossain.