The First Historical Archives of China, a state archives specializing in the collection and management of historical materials of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), opened its publication reading room to the public on Thursday.

The move came ahead of the International Archives Day that falls on June 9 each year.

The reading room accommodates more than 3,000 published copies of the historical materials that have been collected and archived by the institution.

The center launched public exhibition and services for searching for and borrowing archives in January.

Founded in 1925, the institution is the first modern archive center of China. Over the years, it has released about 3,500 copies of the historical materials from Ming and Qing dynasties, according to the institution.