From Greenhouse to Bookshelf: Yanggu County in Shandong Discovers Quiet Power of Reading

LIAOCHENG, China, June 8, 2026 /Xinhua-AsiaNet/–

By 9:00 a.m. on May 20, Li Xueqing had already filled his last basket of tomatoes in a vegetable greenhouse in Menfang Village, Yanggu County, east China’s Shandong Province. Instead of heading home, he made his way directly to the Guanzhi Study, a public library located in the town center. With practiced ease, he swiped his card and made a beeline for the agricultural technology section.

“Back then, we farmed by gut feeling,” Li said, pointing to the color illustrations in a book on plant disease. “Gray mold would wipe out half a greenhouse before we knew what hit us.” Last year, he tried the methods he found here, and crop disease dropped by 30 percent. Now, whenever someone’s vegetables run into trouble, Li is the first person they turn to.

Around noon, Lyu Zhengpeng pushed through the door of the Bu’er Study on Dazhong Road. The lunch rush was over. He had an hour before the afternoon orders picked up. He found his corner, pulled a novel from his bag, and settled in.

“I used to kill time scrolling on my phone by the roadside. The more I scrolled, the emptier I felt,” Lyu said, pulling a book from his bag. “Now it’s different. The community has this study, open 24/7. I come here every day, sit for a while, read a few pages – it makes me feel grounded.”

He stumbled upon the study by chance last year. “I was passing by while delivering food and saw the lights on with people reading inside, so I got curious and went in.” Since then, it has become his “rest stop.” In just over six months, he has finished four novels. “It is never too late to start reading,” he said.

Song Min, director of the Qiaorun Subdistrict Public Cultural Service Center, explained that the subdistrict has integrated its four urban studies with volunteer service stations for cultural practice. This initiative has significantly elevated public cultural services with minimal investment but surprisingly effective results. “After school, children come for homework; on weekends, young people come to prepare for exams; and in the evenings, the elderly read newspapers here. From morning till night, the place is consistently well attended,” she said.

Source: Information Office of Yanggu County People’s Government