in December 2004

Brief description of the eight exhibit areas in Hua Song Museum

The Long Road (遥遥长路)

“The Long Road” is an exhibit area that welcomes the visitor with a brief history of the origins of Chinese immigrants. Visitors will be greeted by an antique map of China (6 metres by 2.5 metres) with animated point lights representing the people who left China.

An animated shadow of a man walking will also be projected onto a picture screen. This special effect is a philosophical form of display to represent uncertainties that await the immigrants when they move overseas.

Archives of the World (老照片)

This area exhibits various old pictures of the early immigrants including the coolies’ days of struggle, their habits and customs, and how they adapted to their new found home. These pictures were carefully selected to ensure that visitors will be engaged emotionally.

The archival area is designed to resemble the concept of a peaceful and elegant gallery. Pictures are placed behind a 0.5-metre-deep panel. To look at the pictures, visitors need to peep through holes framed with Chinese timber carving, set at different heights. There are also two display areas of artifacts placed at extreme corners of the exhibit area.

Trailblazers (先驱者)

The “Trailblazers” area centres on the life stories of Yung Wing, a Chinese immigrant as well as other trailblazers who had been successful in their fields. This area is designated as the education arm of the museum to promote a learning journey for children. The programme is developed for children between the ages of six to 12 years old.

The ambience of the “Trailblazer” exhibit area is set to replicate the autumn season, with walls dominated by an orange-yellow hue. Maple leaves will be strewn on the floor to enhance the ambience of the autumn season.

Survival (Women) （生存 – 她们的故事）

While the stories in the archival area are mostly about men, visitors will also experience a section of the museum that pays tribute to the women who migrated overseas. Chinese women played a pivotal role in the development of overseas Chinese communities.

The women’s stories in this section will be told through an engaging display of mannequins. The mannequins will comprise a little girl, sold at an auction, possibly to become a slave as well as well-known historical figures including the Samsui woman, Amah Jie, and the San Franscisco prostitute. Each of the mannequins will be rendered contextually to tell their unique stories. Visitors will see the Samsui woman pulling down a tree trunk in a construction scene, an Ama Jie watching over a baby in a garden and a prostitute standing at a road junction.

Chinatown (唐人街)

The Chinatown section will tell the stories of how immigrants and their descendants assimilate into their new adopted lands. Situated within a replica of shop houses, this section will feature pictures of generation of immigrants in the early days of settlement. It will also tell how these immigrants attempted to preserve their identity and nurture a relationship with the locals. Stories of Chinese herbs will also be covered here.

At the opposite side of the shop houses, there will be two mannequins located at a strip of greenery which represents a Chinese garden. These two mannequins represent a master and his servant admiring their prized pet bird in a cage, a popular pastime amongst the Chinese in the early days.

The Long Table（长桌宴）

The Chinese are well known for their passion for food. The appreciation of food is part of the Chinese heritage. For the early Chinese immigrants, food was one of the most important links they had with China.

Within this exhibit area (6.5 metres by 14 metres), interesting stories and facts about Chinese food will be presented. Various types of Chinese food will be displayed on a long Chinese-style banquet table. There will also be thirteen pieces of scrolls (5 metres by 1 metre) suspended from the ceiling. Written in calligraphy, these scrolls will tell the stories about Chinese food and idioms. A special guest in the form of a mannequin enjoying a meal will be seated at one end of the table.

Three-generation Hall（三代情）

The story in this zone (6.5 metres by 8 metres) focuses on the value of filial piety that has been passed down through many generations. To the Chinese communities, paying respect to their ancestors has become the strength of the society’s fabric. They draw their strength from it and it also binds them altogether to face their daily struggles.

This zone will be built upon written stories and objects donated by the visitors and the public. Visitors will also find an antique Chinese table with a book that contains the story of Hua Song Museum. A scale model (1:2 scale) of an ancestral home will be displayed on a pedestal at the centre of the exhibit area. This is an example of an immigrant’s home in China before they moved overseas.

Furnished in a red fabric, a 5-metre high feature wall will stand tall as the anchor of the “Food” hall as well as the “Son’s and Daughter’s story” zone. The “Son’s and Daughter’s story” exhibit area is situated next to the “Food” hall.

Clans and Associations （宗乡会馆）

The stories of clans and associations form the closing chapter of the Chinese immigrants’ journey. This “Clans and Associations” hall will feature collections of articles and objects that belong to various overseas and local clans and associations, encased within a glass box cabinet. Fronting the main entrance will be a giant screen with a dimension of 7.2 metres by 3 metres. This zone doubles as a theatre that will play about four movies based on the four themes of leaving home, making good, family and habitat, and crossing boundaries.

Source: Singapore Tourism Board Press Release 6 May 2004