The Nanzhong School 南中學校 of Shenzhen is breathtakingly beautiful.

Shenzhen is proud of its libraries, and rightly so. There is a long list of libraries in Shenzhen that caters to all interests, from small community reading rooms to state-of-the-art heaven for bookworms.

The Nanzhong School, as it is revived since 2018, is a small community library in the Pingshan District of Shenzhen. I paid a visit in September 2026.

The Nanzhong School of Pingshan

The Nanzhong School came into being in 1931 as the combined school for the Duimianhan Cun and Shushanbei Cun Villages. Its story was significant in two ways. First, the school was the very manifestation of the two villages’ good will. In the beginning, Duimianhan Cun and Shushanbei Cun did not get along. In an effort to bring forth reconciliation, the two villages decided to send their children to one school. The school was thus created with peacemaking in mind.

Furthermore, the Nanzhong School was one of the first schools in Shenzhen that embraced the new curriculum post 1911 Revolution, which overturned the Qing dynasty (and supposedly all things feudal). The former educational emphases on the Chinese classics was replaced by modern objectives in natural sciences in this school.

All parties saw the Nanzhong School as a worthy cause and the work began in full motion. Hong Kong based overseas Chinese Hui Kei Cheuk supplied the land. Hui Yeung Shing contributed 1/3 of the costs. Then the villagers contributed the rest, be it in money or in effort.

The name Nanzhong consisted of the two characters, “Nan” (of Xiunan National Primary School) and and “Zhong” (of Peizhong National Primary School), each word taken from one character in the names of the two former villages schools.

The school children of both villages attended Nanzhong School. Soon enough, the school acquired a very good reputation with its educational approach. By 1954, its student body grew to more than 300 as further neighborhood schools were merged into Nanzhong School. The school has thus carried forth the original purpose of bringing unity to the immediate neighborhood, indeed elevating itself to a significance that has far reaching impact for Shenzhen as well.

Architectural Features of the Nanzhong School

The Nanzhong School building exhibits some typical characteristics of buildings built by overseas Chinese, in a “fusion” style, called Chinese eclectic, that involves notable Chinese and western elements.

Commentators suggest that the Nanzhong School shows a Southeast Asian style, a key feature of which were the columns that line amidst the “flying eaves,” which are considered features of traditional Chinese architecture. The rolling arched top in the façade stands out as the indicator of the fusion intention in the architectural design.

Finally, the porch stands prominently featuring three plain arched entrances, with corresponding arches in the open balcony on second floor in more ornate details, including decorative partition columns.

The two-story building is built of bricks and concrete, with white walls and black tiles. The words “Nanzhong School” as they appear now were part of the effort to restore the old building.

The Nanzhong School Today

Perhaps no one was spared of the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and it was the turning point for the Nanzhong School as well. The school declined from its heyday at that historical point and eventually moved out of its original venue during the 1980s. The beautiful school building was left in ruins for decades.

Fast forward to 2012, there were plans to pull down the old school building to make way for road construction. The surrounding area of Pingshan District is now home to the Shenzhen Technology University. By all measures, the urban landscape of the Pingshan District is that of sophistication and learnedness.

But that is also why the Nanzhong School was preserved. There were calls in the community to keep the school, and the authority acceded to such calls. In 2017, the Shenzhen Municipality declared Nanzhong School as a historical building. There is a roundabout now right outside of the school as the Plan B that was carried out to preserve and reivive the heritage of Nanzhong School.

I think it is incredibly smart that the school now serves as a small library (it has a collection of books but I think it positions itself more like a community reading room). There is a café there as well. I was very eager to spend an afternoon there doing my writing at this wonderfully bookish venue.

It takes 2.5 hours for me to get to the Nanzhong School from Hong Kong (and I already live in the closest town to China in Hong Kong). On the day of visit, which was September 8, 2026, the school was closed for repairs. I was told that the date of reopening is not known yet.

But just a quick look at the library gave me goosebumps. It is so calm, so comfortable, and so “new literati.” I can’t wait to visit again when it is reopened. It really is worth the trip from Hong Kong.

Sources

www.newton.com.tw, Nanzhong School.

The Wikipedia on the Nanzhong School (Chin).