Saving memories of poorer times
Print Edition
In an obscure museum in Huachuan Village, old items and furniture collected from local farmers are testimony to the tremendous changes wrought by China鈥檚 anti-poverty drive.
Kerosene lamps and water containers made from bark were once common objects in the village in northwest China鈥檚 Gansu Province.
Now they are displayed like ancient relics in the three-room 鈥淩ural Memory Museum.鈥
Hold your breath and meet the most grandiose dowry of a local family: five pottery bowls of different sizes juxtaposed like an unfolded Matryoshka doll.
鈥淚n the past, only the richest of the impoverished families in the village could afford them,鈥 said Wang Ting, a township official stationed at the village and a guide at the three-room museum.
Pottery jars of various sizes and shapes are the most common items on display. They are a reminder of an era when local families need to store water to prepare for droughts.
Another photo showed villagers gathering around a newly-installed open-air faucet in 2014.
鈥淚t was the first time tap water reached the village,鈥 said Wang.
鈥淎nd villagers wrapped the faucet with plastic bags to protect the precious water source from freezing in the winter,鈥 Wang added.
China has set the goal of eradicating absolute poverty by 2020. As destitution fades across China, villages like Huachuan have set up museums to document the memories of poverty.
The aim is both to honor the historic campaign and to preserve local cultures and identities.
In east China鈥檚 Shandong Province, over 210 village memory museums have been set up since 2018 with government funds. One such museum in Caoxian County has over 100 wooden farming tools that have been replaced by machines.
Huachuan is one of the better-off villages in Tongwei County, which is in the homestretch to remove itself from the poverty-ridden county list.
The village was delisted in 2014 with developments in its animal husbandry and strong government assistance. Last year, the village opened the museum to preserve its culture and collective memories in the battle against poverty.
It initially displayed 486 items, donated by enthusiastic local residents.
鈥淢any villagers rummaged through their houses for old items, and some wealthy locals living in other cities mailed us old pictures and wired money to express support,鈥 Wang said.
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