On the afternoon of July 20, 2026, a delegation of four led by Mr. Tommaso Sacchi, Deputy Mayor of Milan, Italy, visited Shanghai Library East. Mr. Chen Chao, Director of Shanghai Library, hosted the reception. Staff from the European and African Affairs Office of the Shanghai Municipal Foreign Affairs Office accompanied the visit.
Director Chen welcomed Deputy Mayor Tommaso Sacchi and introduced the construction and operation of Shanghai Library East to the guests. Deputy Mayor Sacchi expressed his great honor to visit Shanghai. He then spoke about the current development and challenges faced by Milan’s public libraries. In light of the challenges brought by digitization, IT integration, and intelligent transformation, the two sides engaged in a brief exchange and discussion. Sacchi expressed his hope for an opportunity to have further discussions with Director Chen in Milan in the future.
Following the exchange, Director Chen accompanied Deputy Mayor Sacchi and his delegation on a tour that highlighted the third-floor’s Reading Plaza and the special exhibition “The Renaissance in the Study – Western Manuscripts, Printing, and Bookbinding Arts from the 10th to the 17th Century”, among other areas.
