Doorway Design of British Library

Traveling around the world, if circumstances permit, my favorite places to go are university campuses and libraries. The common feature of these two places is that they are open to the public and are “undefended.” Of course, Chinese university campuses are an exception. The former is to feel its youthful and free culture atmosphere, the latter is to appreciate the civilization of a city and respect and worship knowledge.

British Museum Book Reading Room

The years before retirement were spent in the UK. The British Library in London, Birmingham City Library and Liverpool Central Library have all left a deep and beautiful impression on me.

The British Library

The British Library at 96 Euston Road, London, also known as the National Library of England, was developed from the British Museum Library that was first established in 1753. In July 1973, the National Central Library, the National Science and Invention Reference Library, the National Science and Technology Loan Library and the British National Bibliography Company merged to form the British Library today.

British Library open doors

The new ochre-red British Library building on Euston Road was completed in 1996. On the right side is the famous St. Pancras Hotel and St. Pancras Railway Station, which is the departure station of the “Eurostar” train to the European continent; and from St. Pancras, go forward It is Euston Railway Station, the departure station for England to go north to Scotland and Northern Ireland. The overall appearance of the new building of the British Library matches the colors of the neighboring St. Pancras, and the styles complement each other. One is classic Victorian style, the other is modern minimalist style.

Victorian St. Pancras

Main entrance of the British Library

The British Library has 150 million collections. Collected every book, every newspaper, periodical and other publications published in the UK. Even music scores, etc. must have copies. There are both traditional paper publications and the most modern electronic publications. There are both the latest published and manuscript ancient books from two thousand years ago.

Panoramic photo of the British Library

Although the history of the British Library is only more than two hundred years, its collection can be traced back more than 3,000 years ago. The brown glass tower in the lobby of the new building was donated by King George IV of his father George III to the British Library in 1823. The glass tower is six stories high, and all the book ridges are facing outwards for viewing. If necessary, staff can access it for readers through internal passages or movable bookshelves.

From where I live, it takes about forty minutes to walk to the British Library. Try to apply for its library card online, it needs to fill in too much personal information, give up. But this does not prevent me from entering the library without a certificate. One of the reasons I like patronizing this library is that it often holds exhibitions of various collections in the lobby or side compartment on the first floor. The few exhibitions that impressed me were the “Quran Rare Book Exhibition”, the “Georgian Age Architecture Exhibition”, “The Conquest of the Arctic Photo Exhibition” and so on. These exhibitions with different themes give the public a glimpse of these unparalleled authentic works and treasures, which are really rare.

The spiral staircase in the lobby of the Liverpool Central Library

Going to Liverpool to play, originally went to worship the “Beatles” band. But the Liverpool Central Library in the city centre has become the biggest gain besides the Beatles. It was founded in 1860 and is the largest of the 22 public libraries in Liverpool. Its appearance is as old and mottled as the appearance of the British Museum, with a heavy sense of history. But when I entered the door, I couldn’t help taking a deep breath, deeply impressed by its modernity and artistic sense. The spiral staircase decorated with stained glass is magnificent no matter from which angle it is viewed.

Shakespeare Paper Sculpture in Liverpool Library Hall

Shakespeare in Liverpool Central Library

Classic and frugal side entrance of Liverpool Central Library

Part of the outer wall of the Birmingham Library

The Birmingham Library fully embodies the characteristics of Birmingham, which was once an important town of the British Industrial Revolution

On two business trips to Birmingham, I couldn’t help but want to go to the Birmingham Library. This new library built in 1974 on the site of the original Birmingham Central Library has been the largest municipal public library in the UK and even in Europe from the date of its completion until 2013.

Birmingham Library Hall

The Birmingham Library is the masterpiece of the famous “Russian” architect John Madin. Although the cost of materials had to be reduced due to tight funding at the time, its majestic arched reading room, desolate concrete exterior wall and distinct geometric design have become a representative work of British architectural brutalism and are highly favored by the architectural circles. This architectural style is also regarded as a symbol of social progress. The number of visitors from 2011 to 2012 was close to 1.2 million, making it the second most visited library in the UK and the pride of Birmingham.

There is an escalator in the atrium of the Birmingham Library Hall, which is a bit like an escalator in a big shopping mall, which is convenient but does not feel like visiting a market. Standing on the escalator slowly rising, what rises in your heart is the worship of knowledge and civilization and nothing else.

Overlooking downtown Birmingham from the rooftop garden of the Birmingham Library

During the years of working and living in the UK, although I like to visit large and beautiful libraries, in my daily life, the Marylebone Community Library near my home is the only one I must visit every week, which is simple and convenient like my own living room or study room. I wonder if you feel the same as me?

Birmingham Library Corridor

Note: Most of the pictures in this article were taken on my mobile phone during my stay in the UK, and a few were taken from the Internet.

He added that the Abel Prize (considered the Nobel Prize for Mathematics) in 2021 was awarded to a pioneer in the field Zero Knowledge Proof – Scientist László Lovász (Mathematical Institute Alfréd Rényi and University of Eötvös Loránd in Budapest, Hungary), and Avi Wigderson (Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, USA). The puzzle is as follows: Isla works in an office with 100 employees. One day, she discovered that her favorite paperclip was stolen by someone else. She identifies the suspicious object. Annabel, her colleague, said she was also suspicious of a person. Isla wants to know if she and Annabel are suspicious of the same person, but the two don’t want the other to know who they are doubting, in case they suspect different subjects. Isla thinks over and over how she and Annabel can check if they suspect the same person without revealing the information they find suspicious to the other party. The question is whether Isla and Annabel can find a way to reconcile their thoughts without letting the other know who they are doubting? This method should ensure that, after comparison, Isla knows whether she and Annabel are suspicious of the same person. Second, they need to make sure the other person doesn’t know they are distrusting. This verification is part of the protocol Zero-knowledge . At first glance, Alex Bellos judged that this was a puzzle without a solution. For example, Isla cannot say “The person I suspect was late for work on Monday” because it revealed some information about the other person. He also came up with a third party two-man solution, Dan, a good friend they trust a lot. Then, Isla and Annabel numbered the office staff from 1 to 100. Next, they write the number to replace the name of the suspect on a piece of paper and give it to Dan. If Dan confirms the two numbers are the same, they suspect the same person and vice versa. However, this solution is not perfect as no one can guarantee Dan from disclosing his number to the other person. Everything depends on the level of trustworthiness of the third party. Therefore, it cannot guarantee the non-disclosure of information as the quiz requires. Nearly 200 people participated in discussing Alex Bellos’s riddle and proposing measures to verify that Isla and Annabel were suspicious of the same person. Then, the author Alex Bellos together gave 3 relatively suitable methods. Can you take any measures to ensure the request of the assignment or not, ie Isla and Annabel know if they are suspicious of the same person and do not disclose information about the suspect to the other person? Readers who have difficult problems that need to be answered or want to share good calculations can send them to the newsroom at giaoduc@zing.vn.

Stone camels.

History begin

Located in the middle of Ha Tay corridor, on the famous ancient silk road, the south bordering Thanh Hai province, the north bordering Noi Mong, Dan Ha geopark has two areas, that is That Thai Rainbow) and Ice Fishing. If the yellow, red, and light brown rocky mountains of That Thai are very famous, Bang Cau is less known because it was discovered in 2014 and has not received much media coverage. Most people who come to Truong Dich only visit Rainbow Mountain, but forget another “princess” of the desert.

Dan Ha Bang Cau is about 300km2 wide and lies at an altitude of 1,500m to 2,550m above sea level. About 100 million years ago, when alluvial rivers dried up, the sediment here oxidized to rust. After about 30 million years, geological change continued to create a layer of sandstone and other minerals. In addition, the collision of continents and wind, floods contributed to the mountains like today.

If That Thai is a color vision party, Bang Cau is a surprise when visitors witness the mother of nature sculpting the mountains into various amazing shapes like camels. Tower, palace … Standing on the highest viewing point of Bang Cau, you will see the Ky Lien mountain range in the distance. In winter, when the mountains are covered with white snow, the red-orange rocks in Bang Cau become even more vibrant, creating a very impressive scene.

Bang Cau Dan Ha is a complex of unique natural stone sculptures.

Unique natural stone sculpture complex

Bang Cau Dan Ha is a complex of unique and lively natural stone sculptures. There are hundreds of different animal-shaped rocks, of which the most famous are the camel-shaped rocks and the rock called “The Ghost of Lourve Castle”.

To protect the extremely fragile geological and biological layers here, the Chinese government has built a separate passageway for each viewing spot. Tourists are only allowed to move within that area by means of the center, not to move freely and not step outside to preserve the landscape and ecosystem. The environment here is also extremely well preserved when there is no litter, bottle cover on every street. To each main attraction, the bus will stop outside, and visitors walk around until they want to go to the next destination, then return to their old place, waiting for the next bus.

Right at the first stop, visitors can admire the camel-shaped rocks in many poses and are very romanticly named “Golden Camel’s Love”. ), “Greeting Camel” (Greeting camel). These stone camels are reminiscent of camels carrying heavy goods on their backs across the arid desert to distant lands as far as Central Asia, Persia, and Europe along the Silk Road. Leaving the lovely stone camels, visitors are surprised by the stone pillars with strange shapes and names such as Yin Yang column, Tran Vu god, Vong Phu stone … Each stone is named In Bang Cau, there is a story, the accompanying tale makes visitors love to read and imagine.

At the last main viewing spot is the rock called “The Ghost at Lourve Castle”. In fact, this rock is 150 meters wide and 50 meters high, 20 meters taller than Lourve in real life. This “Lourve Castle” is like a veranda wall that challenges time, protecting this land from ancient times to the present day. From here continue to go down is rock mixed together with rocks like a giant mushroom garden. In the midst of the immense space, surrounded by the valley, are majestic mountains coinciding with the horizon.

If you have the opportunity to go to Truong Dich, you definitely have to go to Bang Cau, a wonderful complex of 40km long rocky mountains waiting for you to explore.