Guangzhou Library
Guangzhou Library
4.5
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- Guangzhou Opera House • 4 min walk
- Zhujiang New Town • 7 min walk
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4.5
342 reviews
Excellent
192
Very good
114
Average
31
Poor
2
Terrible
3
Andrew C
Guangzhou, China2 contributions
Sept 2020
If you want to feel a sort of "shock and aww" then this place is great. It is shockingly large, there are a shocking number of people there on any given Saturday and looking down from the 8th floor to the lobby of this modern building is aww inspiring. It's not really a place to spend the afternoon, in my opinion, but an hour is fine for tourists. If you read Chinese, well that's a different story...you might want to move in.
Written 1 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
InnaYYZ
Toronto, Canada1,496 contributions
Aug 2019
The building is fascinating both from within and the exterior. There is an English books section. Lots of kids, both young and old, studying here. Large collection of books.
Written 18 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
PushExplore
Singapore, Singapore4,953 contributions
Oct 2019
The Guangzhou Library is another iconic building and it is always such a nice experience to explore this wonderful place.
Written 14 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
PushExplore
Singapore, Singapore4,953 contributions
Apr 2019 • Solo
The Guangzhou Library is quite a popular hangout for adults and kids alike. There are several floors of books, media etc. and they have a fairly extensive (though not terribly elaborate) collection of English books. Moving around the two sections can be a bit of a pain with the elevators, stairs, but its worth it. The library is usually super crowded.
Written 15 April 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ScottGinABZ
Aberdeen, UK191 contributions
Aug 2020
The building isn't remotely bookish. I never went inside, but from the outside, it is a beautiful building. I was surprised to find out it was a library. It looks incredibly good from the outside, especially at night.
Written 14 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
kim buay p
Singapore, Singapore12,893 contributions
Sept 2019
We took the subway to Canton Tower and transferred to APM to the Guangzhou Opera House stop to get here. Our 24 hrs subway pass at 20 yuan allowed us much flexibility to see as much of Guangzhou as possible. We only have time to admire the Library building from the outside. After that we walked on to view the Guangzhou Opera House nearby.
Written 13 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Phantom Paper
Guangzhou, China6 contributions
Mar 2019 • Solo
Better than the Beijing Library! Features of this library that I hope might help any future visitors:
- Foreigners can borrow!
- No registration required if you're not borrowing. 8th floor houses their English fiction collection, so you can simply make your way up.
- For expats living here long-term, bring your passport and proof of residency like your rental agreement/electricity bill/residency permit to register for a permanent/long-term card.
- Short term membership lasts 2 months and only requires your passport.
- Both types of membership allows you to borrow up to 6 foreign books and 10+ Chinese books.
- Borrowing is free! Though design books require a 300 RMB deposit.
- Loan period is 1 month and you can extend it for an additional month for each book. You can only extend it once.
- There are self-serve machines on each floor for borrowing and returning books. - Desanitizing machines are located on the ground floor.
- Members can rent e-readers for 1 month after paying a 600 RMB deposit.
- If you want to look for a specific book, use the computers on site or at home to search on their website. This way you can also locate where the book is. Have a look at the screenshots I've uploaded for more info.
- Ask for a brochure in English at the front desk, it covers other membership details, floor info, overdue fines, general info and rules that I've not mentioned here.
- Disabled people get discounts on deposits.
That's most of the points I can think of. Overall, it was a highly positive experience and I've already successfully borrowed twice and extended(online) some of my books without a hitch. Although you can't compare their collection to the ones you get in the UK or US!
- Foreigners can borrow!
- No registration required if you're not borrowing. 8th floor houses their English fiction collection, so you can simply make your way up.
- For expats living here long-term, bring your passport and proof of residency like your rental agreement/electricity bill/residency permit to register for a permanent/long-term card.
- Short term membership lasts 2 months and only requires your passport.
- Both types of membership allows you to borrow up to 6 foreign books and 10+ Chinese books.
- Borrowing is free! Though design books require a 300 RMB deposit.
- Loan period is 1 month and you can extend it for an additional month for each book. You can only extend it once.
- There are self-serve machines on each floor for borrowing and returning books. - Desanitizing machines are located on the ground floor.
- Members can rent e-readers for 1 month after paying a 600 RMB deposit.
- If you want to look for a specific book, use the computers on site or at home to search on their website. This way you can also locate where the book is. Have a look at the screenshots I've uploaded for more info.
- Ask for a brochure in English at the front desk, it covers other membership details, floor info, overdue fines, general info and rules that I've not mentioned here.
- Disabled people get discounts on deposits.
That's most of the points I can think of. Overall, it was a highly positive experience and I've already successfully borrowed twice and extended(online) some of my books without a hitch. Although you can't compare their collection to the ones you get in the UK or US!
Written 25 March 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
benjaminchodroff
Guangzhou, China27 contributions
Apr 2018 • Family
The Guangzhou Library is my favorite building. As a foreigner, it was very simple to get a free library card with only my passport. Be sure to check out the 8th floor which has many international books in English. The computer system can search all the titles and, although I do not read chinese, I managed to change the language to English and check out a book that was only released in America a month ago. I am also very impressed with the Maker Space where they have 3D printers, soldering stations, and local events.
Written 21 April 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Florence 1
21 contributions
Dec 2015 • Family
a average library with a cool design. would only stay for 20-30 minutes having a walk around, 7th floor has english books, rest are all chinese, but the 7th floor closes at 5 while other parts closes around 8-9 . Many of the books are quite old, but near by is a underground shopping mall worth to check out with a hello kitty cafe and a teddy bear cafe. hope this helped!
Written 18 September 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Henrique_WestOz
Perth, Australia94 contributions
Nov 2018 • Friends
What not to love about this place, architecture is amazing, great spot to just people watch and browse the collection of books and floors. The building is beautiful inside and outside.
Written 3 June 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Can I just enter the library or do we have to be a member?
Written 1 April 2018
Entrance is free to the public, and borrowing a library book only requires a State ID card (chinese citizens) or a passport (foreigners) to register for a free library card. Registration assistance is only in Chinese, but they were very patient as I used a translator app.
Written 22 April 2018
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