« PhotoHong Kong Museum of History
If there is a place in China, where people really care about their history, it must be Hong Kong. It is full of museums. The Law Uk Folk Museum is one out of many sites of the HK Museum of History all over the city, and even if you are not much into museums in general, maybe this one could be an exception. It is small, and it is on the Northeastern edge of Hong Kong Island, in Chai Wan. "chai" stands for firewood, which could be an indication of the original trade of the Hakka, after they settled down in Chai Wan ("Firewood Bay"). The Law Uk Folk Museum (in Mandarin: Luo Wu Min Su Guan) used to be the home of a Hakka family or clan named Law or Luo, that lived there until 1967. It was turned into a museum of Hakka folk customs, in 1989. Both the museum and the park surrounding it are small, and by now located in a very urban environment. But in that park, and inside the museum, you would hardly realize. It is a place, good for a rest, or for exploring the past. And it tells an impressive story of a Chinese minority, with customs of their own. If you are interested in puppet theatres, you shouldn't miss the place, either. Hakka puppet theatre is very popular in China. At Law Uk, you learn about the production of these wooden puppets, and the ways the theatres perform.