Cultural Building sights in Asia
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Central Library
Next door to the Bahawalpur Museum, this fine building houses a well-stocked Central Library. The foundation stone was laid by the then viceroy, Sir Rufus Daniel Isaacs, in 1924. The garden is very restful.
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National Archive
Holding over 15,000 documents, the National Archive is housed in a palace built at the end of the 19th century by Abdur Rahman Khan for his son. Important documents are on display (although some are copies, with the originals too valuable to show) including the treaty with the British Empire in 1919 that finally gave Afghanistan full independence. Accompanying this is a host of newspapers, period photos and old banknotes, although most labelling is in Dari. Older documents are present too, including a 14th-century letter written by Timur, and several Qurans dating from the Durrani period. Although scholars will get the most out of a visit, the archive is still worth…
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Imperial Archives
Tucked away on the first road east of the Forbidden City is the former Imperial Archives, repository for the imperial records, decrees, the ‘Jade Book’ (the imperial genealogical record) and huge encyclopedic works, including the Yongle Dadian and the Daqing Huidian. With strong echoes of the splendid imperial palace, the courtyard contains well-preserved halls – peer through the closed door of the main hall and make out the chests in which the archives were stored.
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Other Concession-Era Buildings
Across the way from the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank Building, on the corner, is the old address of the monumental Sino-French Industrial and Commercial Bank (Zhōngfǎ Gōngshāng Yínháng), dating from 1932. The former Tientsin (Tianjin) Post Office can be found across the way, while around the corner on Chengde Dao is the former French Municipal Administration Council Building (built in 1924), now a library.
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D
University of Mumbai
Looking like a 15th-century French-gothic masterpiece plopped incongruously amongst Mumbai's palm trees, University of Mumbai, still commonly known as Bombay University, was designed by Gilbert Scott of London's St Pancras Station fame. It's possible to take a peek inside both the exquisite University Library and Convocation Hall, but the 80m-high Rajabai Clock Tower, decorated with detailed carvings, is off limits.
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City Fan
As a self-proclaimed 'resort city', Miri is cultivating a reputation for its recreational areas, and the whole urban landscape is studded with greenery and amenities. Nearest to the centre is the City Fan, an expanse of themed gardens that boasts the largest open-air amphitheatre in Malaysia. It's popular with joggers, and also has a public swimming pool, indoor stadium and public library.
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Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library
This fascinating library, founded in 1900, contains a renowned collection of Arabic and Persian manuscripts, Mughal and Rajput paintings, and even the Quran inscribed in a book just 25mm wide. A significant exhibit is Nadir Shah’s sword – perhaps this was the one he raised at Sunehri Mosque, Delhi, in 1739 to order the massacre of the city’s residents.
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E
Wenjin Pavilion
The Wenjin Pavilion was built in 1773 to house a copy of the Siku Quanshu, a major anthology of classics, history, philosophy and literature commissioned by Qianlong. The anthology took 10 years to put together, and totalled an astounding 36,500 chapters. Four copies were made, only one of which has survived (now in Běijīng).
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F
Himachal State Museum & Library
About 2.5km west of Scandal Point by the telecommunications mast, the Himachal State Museum & Library has an impressive collection of Kangra and Mughal miniatures, Chamba embroidery, coins and jewellery, temple carvings, paintings of Shimla and weapons - including some massive blunderbusses.
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Bibliotheca Zi-Ka-Wei
Of Xujiahui’s prized Jesuit monuments, none is as splendid as the St Ignatius Catholic Library, built in 1847. Reserve a spot on the free 15-minute Saturday tours of the magnificent library ( 大书房 ) or peek into the old reading room (2nd floor) during the week.
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Archive of the Communist Party of Turkmenistan
Across the road from the statue of Lenin is an austere concrete building that was once the Archive of the Communist Party of Turkmenistan. Its walls feature modernist concrete sculptures made by Ernst Neizvestny, the Russian artist who lived and worked in Ashgabat during the 1970s.
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Cubbon Park
Named after the former British commissioner Sir Mark Cubbon, the 120-hectare Cubbon Park is where the city breathes. Inside and on its fringes you'll find the red-painted Gothic-style State Central Library, two municipal museums, an art gallery and a bleak Government Aquarium.
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Raghunandan Library
Non-Hindus can spy on the Jagannath Mandir from the roof of Raghunandan Library. Ask permission; a 'donation' is compulsory (about Rs10) and your amount is entered in a book. On Sunday a nearby hotel takes over the scam and demands Rs50- easily negotiated down to Rs20.
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Panaji Central Library
On the west side of the Azad Maidan, the Institute Menezes Braganza houses Panaji Central Library and is worth popping into to see the pretty blue-and-white azulejos (glazed ceramic-tile compositions) in the entrance hall.
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Municipal Film Archives
Just back from the Love River is the wonderful Municipal Film Archives, where you can enjoy on-site private and public viewings of the archives' films. It's just a shame they won't sell those movie posters in the lobby.
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Mansehra Municipal Library
Up Kashmir Rd is the three-storey Gurdwara Siri Guru Singh Saba, a pastiche of colours and styles. Built in 1937 as a gurdwara, it's now the Mansehra Municipal Library. The ornate interior hasn't been altered much.
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Chinese Reading Room
This attractive octagonal structure, with its double stone staircase and little round tower, is the wonderful mix of Chinese and Portuguese styles found only in Macau.
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Konnichi-an Library
The Konnichi-an library has more than 50,000 books (about 100 in English) plus videos on tea, which can be viewed.
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Hiroshima City Manga Library
Hiroshima City Manga Library is a small comic-book museum in the grounds of Hijiyama-kōen.
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