This project, which began construction in July 1996, was completed in May 1998 in honor of Peking University's centennial celebrations. It officially opened in December 1998.

The new wing is located on the bank of the beautiful Weiming Lake. The new and old wings are integrated with the central building via a corridor. With a total floor area of 27,000 square meters, the new wing can accommodate a seating capacity of 2,000 and a collection of three million volumes. The new wing was designed to be a modern, fully digitized, state-of-the-art facility.

With the addition of the new wing, the Peking University Library is now the largest university library in Asia, with a total floor area of 51,000 square meters, a collection capacity of 6.5 million books, and seating accommodations for more than 4,000 people.

The library houses the Departments of Acquisition, Cataloging, Periodicals, Circulation and Reading, Information Reference, Automation, Ancient Book Collection, Audio/Visual Materials, and Document Services. It is also the location of the Director's Office, Office of General Affairs, and the Safeguard Department.

The library is now better equipped to build and store a collection of valuable Chinese historical papers and documents and offers a better environment for learning and research.