Hong Kong Museum of History

            The Hong Kong Museum of History's permanent exhibition, "The Hong Kong Story", takes visitors on a fascinating journey through the territory's extraordinary past. Divided into eight separate galleries, the exhibition begins by exploring Hong Kong's natural environment 400 million years ago and concludes with her return to the People's Republic of China in 1997. In between, a variety of interesting displays present the remarkable journey Hong Kong has endured throughout her lifetime. .
             The fourth gallery entitled "Folk Culture in Hong Kong" stands apart from the rest of "The Hong Kong Story" exhibition galleries in that it does not explore any significant historical events. Rather, it pauses the story momentarily to explore Hong Kong's ethnography, allowing visitors the opportunity to observe various features in the traditional Chinese society of the four main ethnic groups in Hong Kong and southern China. The gallery is divided into five distinct sections: four covering the most prominent aspects of the local ethnics groups and a fifth exploring a selection of activities from the Taiping Qingjiao ceremony, an annual traditional Chinese festival. .
             Upon entry into this gallery's area of the exhibition, visitors immediately encounter a life size replica of a typical fishing junk used by the boat dwellers (formally known as the Tanka), one of the four main ethnic groups in Hong Kong and Southern China. The boat dwellers virtually lived their entire lives on similar fishing junks, many often never setting foot on dry land. The junk exhibit allows visitors to walk across the boat, pausing midway to peek inside and observe the typical living conditions of a boat dweller. Inside, a woman sits sewing, crowded among the collection of her family's possessions. A plate of food can also be seen inside the compact residence, demonstrating a standard meal. Outside, visitors observe laundry hanging out to dry along the sails and an assortment of fishing nets and other equipment on the deck used by the boat dwellers to earn their livelihood.