This attraction introduction is compiled from historical materials in the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com · Scenic Spots section). Ticket prices, opening hours, transportation, and contact information mentioned in the text may be outdated. Please refer to the latest official announcements from the scenic area before traveling; some content consists of historical background/cultural introductions and is for reference only.
The Shaoshan Mao Zedong Library is a commemorative specialized library approved by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, with its name inscribed by Comrade Jiang Zemin. It is an important part of the Shaoshan revolutionary memorial site and an important base for revolutionary tradition education. It aims to become a "Mao Zedong Thought Research Materials Center" and has now become the Mao Zedong Thought Research Information Center of Xiangtan University. The library was completed and opened on December 20, 1996, with a building area of 5,500 square meters. It is affiliated with the Hunan Provincial Shaoshan Administration Bureau and guided professionally by the Hunan Provincial Department of Culture. It plans to hold 500,000 volumes and has already collected over 100,000 books, more than 600 calligraphy and painting works, and over 3,000 video discs.
The Shaoshan Mao Zedong Library uses the ILASII library management system, achieving automated management of book acquisition, cataloging and classification, circulation and lending, and serial publications. The electronic reading room has one main computer and fifteen workstations, and a Mao Zedong bibliography database of nearly 30,000 entries has been built. Readers can search for needed books by title, author, subject, classification, and other means. At the same time, as a tourist attraction, the library has held dozens of exhibitions including "Exhibition of Editions of Mao Zedong's Works" and "Display of Treasures from the Collection." Currently, there are three basic exhibitions, concentrating on displaying over 200 items including rare editions of "Selected Works of Mao Zedong" from home and abroad, precious cultural relics, calligraphy and paintings. Among them, Mao Zedong's works printed in the reed marshes, the sheepskin hardcover Romanian-language edition of "Selected Works of Mao Zedong" given as a state gift to Mao Zedong by former Romanian President Ceaușescu during his visit to China, and the correspondence between Mao Zedong and his First Normal School teacher Mr. Li Jinxi spanning more than half a century are all exclusive collections, appearing for the first time. The display of rubbings of Mao Zedong's handwritten characters "Fu" (Fortune) and "Shou" (Longevity) makes visitors who pray for blessings and auspiciousness and yearn for a better future linger and not want to leave.
