Exhibition hall preserves culture and customs

Visitors learn about the culture and history of Malu Town through exhibits at the Folk Custom Exhibition Hall.

Zi Sha and Catherine Hong

The history of Malu Town is being preserved at the Folk Custom Exhibition Hall in the Cultural Activity Center of Malu Town.

In the center there are also two other exhibition halls. One is displaying personal collections by Xu Zhenbao and the other showing bamboo carvings of Jiang Yuming and his wife Su Yurong.

The three halls are open to the public all day long and tour guides are available.

In the Folk Custom Exhibition Hall visitors can view old photos to learn more about the food, clothes, housing and modes of transport common in the area.

Old furniture, agricultural tools and textile machines represent how time has changed. Some old ladies are showing their skills in weaving the cloth. If you are interested, you can even ask them to teach you how to make it.

Xu’s collection includes coins from past dynasties, porcelain, silverware, embroidery, tiger shoes, smoking pipes, farming instruments and other miscellaneous items. The coin collection is impressive with more than 1,000 pieces dating back hundreds of years.

Xu said the past 100 years was a period of great change in China, when people longed for a modern style of life. But, he said when people become well-off, they would lose interest in traditional things. He said the history needs something to carry, and the articles he collected are not only the articles themselves, but also the history, the culture.

Jiang and Su’s bamboo carvings integrate calligraphy, paintings, poems, articles and seals. The couple has won many national prizes.