Waste pickers in the 'most welcoming library'

Editor's note:Every morning around eight o'clock, people carrying dirty bags stand outside the Hangzhou Public Library waiting for it to open. They are vagabonds and waste pickers who often stay in the library until it closes for the day. Apart from letting vagabonds and rag pickers come inside to read, the library also provides TV programs, movies, music, hot water, and electricity charging for free. Netizens have called it the "most welcoming library in history." For the waste pickers, the library not only offers knowledge and pleasure - it is the only place where they can learn about the world and find some solace in their life.

Zhang Kai (pseudonym), a 76-year-old waste picker, came to one of the reading rooms at the Hangzhou Public Library on Nov. 11, 2014. He carried two bags of reclaimed waste over his shoulder with a bamboo stick. Zhang was born in the countryside and used to be a village cadre and a teacher. He lived alone in Hangzhou, as he was divorced early in his marriage and his children live somewhere else. He lives off his pension and reclaiming waste. [Photo/CFP]