SHANGHAI, March 14 -- American architects plan a smaller-scale replica of China's oldest existing private library, Ningbo's Tianyi Pavilion, at the University of Rhode Island's Confucius Institute, now under construction, the Zhejiang Daily reported yesterday.

The prestigious university in the city of Providence, known for science and engineering, will be the site of the replica of 446-year-old Tianyi Pavilion, a traditional structure in Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province. It will be part of the ongoing construction of the Confucius Institute on campus, the bureau of Culture, Broadcasting, Press and Publication in Ningbo said.

The replica will be smaller in scale and architects will also draw ideas from Prince Gong's Palace in Beijing, a compound renowned for its exquisite scenery.

"The replica of Tianyi will be a true embodiment of Chinese traditional culture in foreign countries, as book collections are key parts of our history," said Yu Haoxu, curator of the pavilion in Ningbo. Tianyi means "the top pavilion in the world."

Tianyi Pavilion Library, built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), has amassed a collection of 300,000 volumes, 80,000 of which are rare books.

Emperor Qianlong (1771-1799) in the Qing Dynasty ordered another seven royal libraries be constructed in China, exactly like Tianyi Pavilion.

The university said the replica will not only be a place to cultivate talented engineers who can speak Chinese, but also a place to raise awareness of Chinese culture among more Americans, according to Zhejiang Daily.

The university will hold 12 lectures about Chinese culture this year in its "Contemporary China" project while activities about Chinese culture will also be broadcast through radio TV to more Americans.

The University of Rhode Island's Confucius Institute, which incorporates traditional Chinese garden designs, will be put into use by the end of 2008.

The Confucius Institute is a project launched by the National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language and aims to enhance the understanding of the Chinese language and culture among learners of Chinese worldwide.

China is to set up more than 100 Confucius Institutes around the world by 2010, according to the Ministry of Education.