HAIKOU: Wang Zhenzhong, owner of a rural museum in a fishing village in the island province of Hainan, has gotten busier over the past two years as the number of visitors has increased.
A descendant of fishermen, Wang has collected items passed down by his family over the years, including nautical charts and compasses, and opened a museum near the venue of the Boao Forum for Asia in honor of his father and grandfather, who had both traveled across the South China Sea.
“The nautical charts I inherited contain the stories of our ancestors fighting the wind and waves in the South China Sea, and those stories have been listed as a national-level intangible cultural heritage,” said Wang, who also serves as the docent of the museum located in Paigang village.
Despite its small size, the museum has attracted visitors from across the country, who come for its unique exhibits and the culture it preserves.
With old photos and veteran fishermen on hand to tell stories, the museum offers tourists a place to learn about the local culture and the courage of the anglers, said Du Yaping, a visitor from Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.
The site is one of a number of rural museums featuring local folk culture that have sprung up in China in recent years. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
