Huang Kunming, executive deputy director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, shows a book from the new Library Center of China to Ana Castillo, Peru's deputy minister of culture, in Lima on Sunday. [Photo by May Zhou/China Daily]

Peruvians now have an important new resource to get to know China better, after the Library Center of China opened its doors in Lima on Sunday.

The showcase for Chinese culture will be "a living room for the Chinese and Peruvian cultural intelligentsia", said Huang Kunming, executive deputy director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee.

The joint project of the China Foreign Language Publishing Administration and the National Library of Peru will include books on such topics as Chinese history, culture, literature, traditional medicine and martial arts, as well as modern China, Huang said.

"The center will help Peruvians know China better and will provide a rich reservoir of information for scholars of China studies in Peru. In addition, the Chinese books will serve as Chinese language learning materials," Huang said.

Initially stocked with a gift of 1,000 books, the center will be gradually expanded by about 300 books a year, according to Hu Baomin, president of China Today and one of the organizers of the project.

The initial installment of books consists of 60 percent in Spanish and 40 percent in Chinese. Seminars on Chinese culture also are planned at the center.

Gonzalo Gutierrez Reinel, Peru's ambassador to the European Union and former ambassador to China, said that cultural connections are necessary in addition to economic connections.

"There is still a long way to go to improve bilateral exchanges," he said. "I know that Peru has recently relaxed visa requirements for Chinese. All this will enhance mutual exchanges and understanding."

Delfina Espinosa, director of the National Library of Peru, and Ana Castillo, deputy minister of culture of Peru, expressed appreciation to China for the gift and noted the growth in the China-Peru relationship.

A small exhibition about the history of Chinese characters, and the invention of paper, movable-type printing and writing tools marks the opening of the center.

The displayed items are high-quality reproductions from the collection of the China Printing Museum, according to Li Meng, design director at the China Foreign Language Publishing Administration.

Contact the writer at mayzhou@chinadailyusa.com