Almost 100 people attended the opening at the public library in the northwestern Portuguese city of São João da Madeira of a room given over to material in Chinese, the Chinese Embassy in Lisbon says.

The Chinese room became the first of its sort in any Portuguese public library when it opened last Thursday, the embassy announced in writing.

Its announcement quotes São João da Madeira Mayor Jorge Sequeira as saying staff of the Chinese room and the branch of the Confucius Institute at the University of Aveiro are working together to put on events to do with Chinese literature, heritage and traditions.

The library website says one event is a display, meant for young readers, of books on Chinese culture, and works by noted Chinese illustrators.

Over 940 primary and secondary school pupils in São João da Madeira are learning Chinese, 10 years after classes in the language were first offered there, his embassy quotes Chinese Ambassador to Portugal Zhao Bentang as saying.