From conceptual planning to on-site construction, it took as long as 4 years to see Lingnan Dialect Cultural Museum come into service on September 10th, which marks the first provincial-level physical language museum in China.

Tucked away inside Foshan Library, the museum covers an area of 1,000 square meters, and functions as a major provincial project to preserve the traditions of Lingnan dialects.

With tap-and-read tablets, interactive LED touch screens, drama songs and special items, the venue houses an amazing load of knowledge for three major dialects in Foshan, that is, Cantonese, Min dialects and Hakka dialects. In details, there are 375 voice recordings in Cantonese, 203 in Hakka dialects, 327 in Min dialects. 237 volumes of local classics, 159 copies of folk song albums, and 107 sets of local drama series are also accessible in the museum.

On the opening ceremony, Zhan Bohui, an expert in Chinese dialect research expressed his excitement about the museum. According to Zhan, now working as a Honorary Director of the Chinese Dialect Research Center of Jinan University, Lingnan culture is an integral part to the magnificent Chinese culture, with dialects spicing up regional culture and serving as a "living fossil" of ancient Chinese language. "The opening of the museum is like our dream coming true. We dialect researchers have dreamed about this for decades." Zhan stated in emotions.

Author | Jersey

Revisor | Jessica

Photo | Foshan Daily