Lai Chi Wo Village is rich in cultural legacy besides its special geological significance and natural landscape. Since December 2014, the project team has been conducting a cultural study focusing on the community resources and capitals of Lai Chi Wo Village and its neighbouring areas with the following objectives:

• To re-discover and properly document the community resources and capitals of Lai Chi Wo for social and cultural well-being
• To develop educational activities, such as cultural workshops and guided tours, for students and general public by using the information collected
• To promote the rural culture of Lai Chi Wo and its neighboring to the wider society

 

Over 20 oral history interviews with key local villagers, village representatives, etc. were conducted and recorded. Interns and leaders from the leadership training programme were engaged to help with the research. Key topics include:

• Daily village lifestyle in the past (including food, clothing, housing and travelling)
• Education and school life in the village
• Villagers’ leisure activities in the past
• Village environment in the past
• Previous agriculture and fisheries of the area
• Traditional festival, customs and values
• Leaving the village

 

Findings have been integrated into educational activities such as thematic guided tours and cultural-related workshops. Some of the findings have been published on the web traditional farming village landscape and traditional Hakka community of Lai Chi Wo and in the Programme’s photo story book. An archive of aerial photos of Lai Chi Wo from the 1950s is maintained.

Old “treasures”, which include farm tools, housewares, traditional Hakka costumes, and paper documents, were also collected from villagers and are now exhibits of the "Lai Chi Wo Cultural Hub".