A reader reads books at the Binhai Library at the Binhai New Area Cultural Center in north China’s Tianjin. The library enjoys the reputation of "the most beautiful library in China". It features floor-to-ceiling terraced bookshelves able to shelve 1.2 million books in total, and a huge, luminous sphere in the center that serves as an auditorium that can seat an audience of 110. (People's Daily Online/Tanja Herko)