Tanka Museum — four hats on the shore

A museum for people on the margins

For centuries the Tanka stood on the margins of Chinese society. In many places they weren't allowed to live on land, own land or sit exams, and their name was long an insult. That a state museum was dedicated to them of all people in September 2023 is remarkable.

It was built in less than two years, from November 2021 to August 2023, for around 212 million yuan. The opening motto was roughly “All rivers flow into the sea”: objects, customs and people scattered along the whole coast were to come together here.

Four hats leaning against each other

The museum stands on the shore of the Xincun lagoon, directly opposite the floating village. Four buildings huddle closely together, each shaped like the broad Tanka hat, the side walls designed like woven bamboo. The architects wanted to show how the community holds together.

From outside, the museum is already the picture. It looks best from the water or from the cable car to Monkey Island, which starts right next door. Inside, spread over two floors and a good 9,000 square metres, are an entrance hall, the main exhibition, rooms for temporary exhibitions, a small cinema and a museum shop.

Where they came from

The main exhibition is divided into three chapters. The first tells of origins: how the Tanka lived for centuries on the coasts and rivers of southern China, how they came from Guangdong to Hainan and why they were excluded for so long.

If you've been through the walkways of Xincun beforehand, you read this story with different eyes. Outside the window lie the rafts of the descendants, seven or eight generations after their ancestors arrived.

From boat to hut to house

The second chapter is the liveliest. It shows how the Tanka lived, in three stages: first on the boat, then in stilt huts by the water, finally in houses on land. A reconstructed boat and hut stand in semi-darkness under a projected moon — an older Tanka woman said at the opening that you haven't seen huts like that in the harbour for a long time, and that the scene reminded her of her childhood.

Add to that everyday objects: wooden rudders, gourd floats children used to learn to swim, narrow wooden pillows for trips out to sea, nets, clothes in blue and black and, of course, the hats. According to the museum, more than 2,000 objects were collected in over 30 villages and communities; around 360 are on display.

Water peoples of the world

The third chapter looks beyond Hainan, to other people living on the water and to the Tanka in other parts of China. At the end there's a digital outlook: on big screens and a sand-table model, Lingshui County shows how it wants to develop the lagoon as a cultural tourism area.

It's worth reading this ending carefully. It shows where things are heading: Tanka culture is to be preserved — and at the same time become a tourism product.

Recognition and museum piece

The songs of the Tanka are now on the national list of intangible cultural heritage. The museum and the list are late recognition for a group that was long despised. By mid-2024 around 120,000 visitors had come.

But it's also a sign that a way of life is moving into the museum while it shrinks outside. See both on the same day — the original at the door and its exhibition behind it — and you experience exactly this tension.

How to approach the visit

About an hour is enough for the exhibition. It's best to come after the morning at the harbour, before it gets too hot at midday. The museum is air-conditioned and therefore a good rainy-day plan too.

It's closed on Mondays. Visits must be registered in advance with your real name and a time slot, via the museum's WeChat channel. The texts are mostly in Chinese; a translation app with a camera function helps.