China Daily (Hong Kong)

Regional history, culture remembered in local museums

- By ZHUANG TI zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

The Weifang Hi-tech Industrial Developmen­t Zone plans to build more subdistric­t and village-level museums to preserve family tree documents and anecdotes that have cultural and historical value, as high-rising buildings replace shantytown­s in the region’s upgrade plan.

The move will help residents who once lived in shantytown­s to remember their ancestors and family history. It will also enrich local people’s cultural lives and allow the younger generation­s to learn more about the city ’s developmen­t history.

“We w i l l c o l l e c t s t o r i e s about the culture and famous people of the zone. It will help young people to better understand traditiona­l culture and cherish our city,” s a i d C h a i Ji a n k u n , a s t a ff member from Xin’gang subdistric­t.

Fo u r subdistric­ts — Xincheng, Xin’gang, Qingchi and Xinchang — each will have a museum to record stories about famous people in the area. Each museum will obtain no more than 1 million yuan ($147,000) in supporting funds from the zone.

Xin’gang subdistric­t museum, covering more than 3,000 square meters, will be open to the public soon. The total investment reached 10 million yuan, according to the zone.

There will be 37 village-level museums to collect typical items, such as agric ultural tools, to reflect local people’s lifestyles. Each museum will be eligible for no more than 300,000 yuan in subsidies to

We have a much better life nowadays. We should not forget our history and excellent traditions.” Xu Xizhi, a resident in the Shanhouxu community will collect typical items, such as agricultur­al tools, to reflect local people’s lifestyles

cover constructi­on and operation cost in the community.

“We have a much better life nowadays. We should not forget our history and excellent traditions,” said Xu Xizhi, a resident in the Shanhouxu community.

The museums’ constructi­on plan gained strong support from local residents. Many residents shared stories about their ancestors and families to expand the collection­s of the archives.

Liu Yinghong contribute­d to this story.

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