Together Into the Frontier: A Deep Local History Exhibition Across the Three Ai Townships

Challenge

The 'ai' frontier settlements carry centuries of history across Beipu, Emei, and Baoshan townships, the collective memory of Hakka settlers opening up the frontier. But this history is dense and academic. The challenge was translating it into a public exhibition that would genuinely engage audiences, avoid one-way lecturing through documents, build cultural identity among local residents, and stay accessible to visitors from outside the region.

Goal

As the cultural centerpiece of the 'Great Ai Cultural Season,' plan an 'Ai History Culture Exhibition' with a clear narrative structure, systematically presenting the history of frontier settlement alongside industrial change, religious festivals, and daily food culture, within a Hakka-friendly exhibition space that foregrounds local cultural identity.

Approach

1. Built the frontier settlement history as the main narrative thread, connecting industrial change, religious festivals, and food culture into zoned sections that form one clear, coherent storyline, letting visitors follow the history chronologically.
2. Introduced Hakka-friendly language design into the exhibition text and guided tour content, strengthening local cultural identity at the level of language itself, so Hakka became part of the exhibition rather than a decorative addition.
3. Built the exhibition's visual design around historical photographs as the core material, letting visitors step directly into the real everyday scenes of the frontier settlement era and closing the distance between audience and history.

Outcome

'The Ai History Culture Exhibition' was presented on schedule as part of the '2024 Great Ai Cultural Season.' Centuries of frontier settlement history across Beipu, Emei, and Baoshan townships was told in full through historical photography and Hakka-friendly exhibition design, giving the region's Hakka cultural depth a concrete, accessible exhibition home.