Unveiling of the model of Gotiaoco Building, home of the Sugbu-Chinese Heritage Museum with Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama. (CDN PHOTO/ JULI SIBI)
Cebu City will soon have its first Chinese museum, a Cebuano-Chinese heritage group said today.
Bob Gothong, chairman of the Sugbu Chinese Heritage Museum Foundation Inc. (SCHMFI), said they are pursuing this year plans to convert the nearly century old Gotiaco Building located across Cebu City Hall’s executive building into the Sugbu-Chinese Heritage Museum.
Restoration works is expected to last two years while museum development starts on the third year of the project implementation. Gothong, presented to the media their Gotiaco building restoration plans in a press conference held this morning in a Cebu City hotel.
“We want this museum to be of the highest standard as this will showcase the long history of the Chinese community and its contributions to the growth of Cebu,” he said.
SCHMFI is working with Cebuano architect Maxwell Espina on the building restoration works .
Clement Liang, secretary of the Penang Heritage Trust in Malaysia, is also helping them comply with requirements to make Sugbu-Chinese Heritage Museum into a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Penang Heritage Trust is a non-government organization that promotes conservation of Penang’s heritage and history. Once completed, Gothong said the museum will put on display the donations from more than 15 Cebuano-Chinese families to build the structure.