The National Library of China in Beijing is the largest library in Asia and with a collection of over 22 million volumes (which includes individually counted periodicals of about 12 million), it is the fifth largest in the world. It holds the largest worldwide collection of Chinese literature.
The forerunner of the National Library of China, the Capital Library, was founded on 24 April 1909 by the Qing government.  It was first formally opened after the Xinhai Revolution, in 1912. In 1916, the library received depository library status. In July 1928, its name was changed to National Beijing Library.