You might have read about the visually stunning library in Tianjin, China previously.

The Tianjin Binhai Library that looked straight out from the pages of a sci-fi novel was designed by Dutch architectural firm MVRDV, and had an average of 15,000 visitors on weekends.

Fake books

However, it is more fictional than it looks.

Sorry to disappoint you, but the 'books' you see in the library are actually just designs printed on the walls.

The six-storey library, dubbed by the media as the most beautiful library in the country, had generated much interest online since photographs of its white interior and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves in the main entrance hall circulated on social media.

However, the excitement was short lived as stories about its 'fake books' started spreading around the world.

If you look closely, you can tell that the rows of images of the spines of books are just some deceptive wallpaper.

Even the real books you see in the picture were placed there temporarily.

[related_story]

Fast-tracked construction, original idea dropped

The library contains 200,000 books and it has grand ambitions to grow its collection to 1.2 million. But most books are in other rooms with more classic library bookshelves.

According to AFP, the original intent of the library's designer, MVRDV, was to make even the upper terraces of the atrium accessible and filled with books. However, construction of the library had been "fast-tracked", forcing it to drop the idea against its wishes.

According to Liu Xiufeng, the deputy director of the library, the plan that was finally approved by the authorities only allowed the main atrium to be used for "circulation, sitting, reading and discussion", not book storage.

As the hall can only be used for the purposes for which it has been approved, the main atrium, as visually stunning as it is, will have to do without books to complement its interior design.

Top image via MVRDV.