Chuen Lung is a Hakka village that is hundreds of years old. It is in Hong Kong’s Tsuen Wan district. It is known for its watercress fields, flowing streams and rolling mountains.
For the past few years, seven artists have been researching the village’s history. Each artist chose a theme or story to explore. They talked to residents and collected photographs and personal items.
“Even though it’s so close to the city, it still feels very rural. It’s a unique village. You still get those countryside vibes with fields, ponds and traditional village structures,” said interdisciplinary artist Benjamin Hao Lap-yan.
Together, the artists and villagers have created an archive of Chuen Lung’s stories, which show how life has changed over the years.
They have also created artwork for an exhibition titled “Flow with Big Mountain”, which runs until March 31. The works are displayed at Koon Man Space and extend throughout the village, placing art within everyday rural life.
The archive shows Chuen Lung’s changes starting in the 1970s, when many residents balanced farming with jobs in factories and other companies outside the village.
“This village has always been part-time farming, part-time something else since the 70s,” Hao said.
Hao’s final artwork uses residents’ stories and images printed on wooden boards. They resemble the stepping planks once used in farming. The boards fit together in different ways to reflects the community’s adaptive spirit.
“I realised that their way of life shares one thing in common: it constantly adapts to what they need,” Hao said.
“They develop new skills and find their own ways to live ... You mix and match the pieces to create new shapes and reinterpret the whole picture.”
Memories of the village
Residents contributed their stories to “Flow with Big Mountain”. One of them is Chan, who shared only her surname. She has lived in Chuen Lung for over 40 years.
“This school used to be abandoned ... Now, it feels new – with modern technology – but you can still see the old things,” she said. “You can see the history from the school days and pass it on to the next generation.”
Her favourite place in the village is the stream known in Hakka as Ho Bui Lek.
“The mountain stream is the most beautiful. Everyone knows it. After you cross the bridge,
you’ll see the watercress fields,” she said. “My four children grew up playing in the stream.”
Near the watercress fields, she added, there is a rocky path where certain stones create echoes when stepped on or tapped.
“Different stones make different sounds. It’s very special,” Chan said.
A growing archive
A digital version of the archive will be launched by the end of March. To encourage people to learn more about the village, the team is creating an interactive game.
“Players will search the archive for stories we’ve shared, but they will also need to physically walk into the village to explore and make their own discoveries,” curator Carol Chow explained. “Chuen Lung is ... a living archive – a community that is still constantly evolving.”
To better understand the spirit of this village, Chow lived in Chuen Lung for a year. During this time, she and the artists connected with about 20 villagers.
Through art, stories and public participation, the Chuen Lung archive continues to grow. It is not just an unchanging record of the past but a growing story shaped by the community.
“We hope to encourage more people to become not perfect creators, but active co-creators – participants who continue shaping this living archive,” Chow said.
