This Beijing Subway Now Has A Library Of Free E-Books For Passengers

On the subway in Beijing, as in most cities with underground Wi-Fi connections, commuters usually spend their rides mindlessly staring at their phones, scrolling through e-mails or playing games. But now riders on one metro line have another option: With a scan of a QR code inside the train car, they can access a library of free e-books.

The books are curated by the National Library of China (NLC), which hopes to help make people more likely to read in everyday life. Working with subway operator Beijing MTR, the library launched the new "M Subway Library" in January. Librarians choose from a selection of 70,000 e-books -- ranging from classic literature to sci-fi and nonfiction -- and narrow the list down to 10 books on a particular theme that changes every couple of months. Books are selected based on passengers' reading preferences, and most happen to be students or younger office workers.