China Hakka Museum

China Hakka Museum

The China Hakka Museum is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

The China Hakka Museum, located in Meizhou City, Guangdong Province, is the only thematic museum in China dedicated to the collection, research, exhibition, and inheritance of Hakka culture. It is the only institution in the country representing the research achievements and directions of Hakka historical and folk cultural artifacts, and is the sole thematic museum for the culture of a single Han Chinese subgroup among China’s many ethnic branches. - It consists of the main museum, the China Hakka Museum, and its branches: the Huang Zunxian Memorial Hall, the Meizhou University Presidents’ Hall, and the Meizhou Generals’ Hall. The main museum covers a land area of 5,984.7 square meters with a building area of 12,000 square meters. The museum houses a permanent exhibition titled "The Hakka People," which is divided into five sections: "Where Do the Hakka Come From?", "Hakka Customs", "Iconic Walled Villages", "Cultural Highlands", and "The Soaring Hakka." These sections showcase the origins of the Hakka people, their customs, dwellings, culture, and spirit, spreading and presenting the profound historical and cultural heritage of the Hakka to the world.

The main building of the China Hakka Museum has a construction area of over 9,000 square meters, with an exhibition space of more than 8,000 square meters. Together with the two traditional Hakka houses on the east and west sides of the main building — the Meizhou Generals’ Hall and the Meizhou University Presidents’ Hall, both converted from ancient Hakka residences with areas of over a thousand square meters each — they form the first Hakka museum in Guangdong Province.

Hakka dwellings are one of China’s five major types of vernacular architecture. The round earthen buildings, square earthen buildings, and walled dragon houses created by the Hakka people are considered representative examples of Hakka architecture. In the "Iconic Walled Villages" exhibition hall, visitors can see wooden beam frames, weighing several thousand pounds and dismantled from old houses, displayed in the exhibition space, creating an interesting contrast with real examples of the traditional Hakka building material — a mixture of lime, yellow mud, and glutinous rice known as “sanhe tu” (three-material earth). The entrance gate of "Tai’an Building" from Dabu County, a classic example of Meizhou’s ancient dwellings, has been authentically replicated on the outer wall of the exhibition hall. A massive model of a three-courtyard walled dragon house, crafted by rural architects from Xingning, is also on display.

Hakka culture and folklore: "Yueguang guang, xiucai niang; qi bai ma, guo lian tang..." Legend has it that the famous late Qing Dynasty poet Huang Zunxian, in his later years at his retreat "Renjing Lu," never forgot this widely popular Hakka nursery rhyme. Today, at the China Hakka Museum, visitors can not only hear children reciting these rhymes with their own ears but also select and play Hakka mountain songs and nursery rhymes in various local accents from Meixian District, Xingning, Jiaoling, Pingyuan, Heyuan, Lianping, Longchuan, and Jiexi through digital controls. The vivid, lifelike displays, with delicate production and minimal reliance on text or images, paired with appropriately lit and sound-enhanced environments, offer visitors an immersive experience.

In the "Where Do the Hakka Come From?" exhibition hall, reporters also spotted a special digital family tree album. Visitors do not need to touch this “album” closely; simply by making a page-turning gesture in the air above it and lightly waving their arm, the “album” obediently flips page by page, helping visitors trace the origins and lineage of their surnames, giving them a sense of identity and fulfillment.

Rapid advancements in science and technology have brought highly engaging and entertaining forms of presentation for showcasing Hakka customs and culture at the China Hakka Museum.

Museum Introduction

Meizhou has a long history. It was called Jingzhou in the Han Dynasty, renamed Meizhou in the Song Dynasty, and referred to as Jiayingzhou in the Qing Dynasty. The city boasts prominent historical figures, resonant Hakka mountain songs, unique Hakka walled houses, and delicious Hakka cuisine. Meizhou proudly ranks first among the “Three Hakka Prefectures” — Jiayingzhou, Ganzhou, and Tingzhou. For thousands of years, Meizhou has remained hidden within beautiful, towering mountains, nurturing a distinctive regional character — calm, composed, leisurely, and elegant. Like the city flower of Meizhou — the plum blossom — it blooms quietly, continuously embodying the Hakka spirit of resilience and progress expressed in the saying, “The fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold.”

Meizhou is a place of cultural richness. Historical figures such as Huang Zunxian, He Ziyuan, Qiu Fengjia, Zhang Bishi, Lin Fengmian, Zeng Xianzi, as well as former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and former Singaporean Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who were born in Meizhou, shine brilliantly across the land like a vast starry sky. Currently, the museum temporarily features venues such as the Generals’ Hall, the Presidents’ Hall, and the Huang Zunxian Memorial Hall.

Meizhou Generals’ Hall

Covering a land area of 550 square meters and a building area of 1,100 square meters, it is a traditional Hakka-style residential building constructed in 1946 with a brick-and-wood structure, featuring two courtyards and two stories in a stilted building style. The hall primarily introduces and displays the demeanor and historical achievements of generals from Meizhou since the Xinhai Revolution up to 2007 (1911–2007), divided into six major sections and 13 exhibition rooms: Revolutionary Pioneers, Long March Heroes, Anti-Japanese Generals, Founding Fathers, Contemporary Elites, and a Generals’ Register. A total of 545 generals are exhibited, including 13 senior generals, 116 lieutenant generals, and 416 major generals.

Meizhou Presidents’ Hall

Covering a land area of 525 square meters and a building area of 1,050 square meters, it is a traditional Hakka-style residential building constructed in the 1940s with a brick-and-concrete structure, featuring two courtyards and two stories in a quadrangle layout with two wings. The hall mainly introduces and displays the life stories, academic achievements, and major contributions of university presidents and secretaries from Meizhou, both in China and abroad, since the late Qing Dynasty. It is divided into eight major sections and 24 exhibition rooms: Marshal and Education, Academician Presidents, Presidents of Renowned Universities, Presidents of Regular Institutions, Presidents of Party Schools and Cadre Training Institutions, Presidents of Adult Education Institutions, Presidents of Institutions in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Overseas, and a Brief History of Meizhou’s Educational Development. A total of 228 university presidents are exhibited, including 103 in principal positions, 83 in deputy positions, 10 academician presidents, 12 from party schools and cadre training institutions, and 19 from adult education institutions.

Huang Zunxian Memorial Hall

It consists of three connected sites: the national key cultural relics protection unit — Huang Zunxian’s study, Renjing Lu, his former residence, Ronglu Mansion, and the provincial cultural relics protection unit — the traditional dwelling, Enyuan Third.

Covering a land area of 23 mu (approximately 1.53 hectares), the Huang Zunxian Memorial Hall is a specialized museum that collects, exhibits, and researches the life and legacy of Huang Zunxian, an outstanding diplomat, enlightenment thinker, reform pioneer, and patriotic poet in modern China. It serves as a window for cultural exchange and a base for patriotic education for Meizhou, a national historical and cultural city. Inside the traditional dwelling Enyuan Third, there are exhibitions titled "Exhibition of Huang Zunxian’s Life and Deeds" and "Exhibition of Huang Zunxian’s Book Collection," showcasing his noble qualities of “keen insight, practical competence, and devotion to the nation.” The ancient buildings — Renjing Lu, Ronglu Mansion, and Enyuan Third — are rich in cultural heritage and each have their own distinctive features, presenting the historical lifestyle of the Hakka people during the late Qing Dynasty.

Social Status

According to experts in cultural relics and museology, it is the only thematic museum in China dedicated to the collection, research, exhibition, and inheritance of Hakka culture. It is the only institution in the country representing the research achievements and directions of Hakka historical and folk cultural artifacts, and is the sole thematic museum for the culture of a single Han Chinese subgroup among China’s many ethnic branches. The museum journal "Hakka Cultural Relics" is the only academic publication in China dedicated exclusively to the excavation, organization, and research of Hakka historical and folk cultural artifacts.

Address: No. 2 Dongshan Avenue, Meijiang District, Meizhou City, Guangdong Province, China

Type: Museum

Phone: 0753-2258830

Official Website: http://www.zgkjbwg.com/gwgk/index.html

Opening Hours: Tuesday–Sunday 9:00–17:30, closed on Mondays

Ticket Information: Free admission.

Further Reading:

· National First-Class Museum of China