[Photo provided to China Daily]

"The encyclopedic collection includes not only Buddhist sutras, but also extends to philosophy, literature, astronomy, medicine and many other fields."

The Zhaocheng Jin Tripitaka is the only surviving printed edition since the original woodblocks were destroyed during the Yuan Dynasty.

The sutras were sent to universities after the war.

They arrived at the NLC in 1949, the year of New China's founding. The institution spent 17 years restoring the ancient pages.

Today, 4,813 chapters remain in the library. Over 4,300 of those were rescued by the Eight Route Army.

Others were donated by private collectors. Some chapters were scattered around the country before the war and even showed up in Beijing's antique markets during that period.

"Some landlords contributed greatly to this heritage's protection," Li Wanli says.