Sugbu Chinese Heritage Museum board of trustees
The Sugbu Chinese Heritage Museum board of trustees went for a week-long tour to Manila, Penang and Singapore. It has been a long planned activity for the members to pursue the trip. In one of the stops, the group was hosted by Clement Liang, Honorable Secretary of the Penang Heritage Trust.
Through the foundation’s goal in preserving and promoting the Chinese-Cebuano heritage and culture, the board was inspired to check Penang, on how they have acquired and was recognized a UNESCO World Heritage Site of Historic Cities.
In both cities, the group were able to absorb the details in their conservation works. They got inspired to see the old rendition of the Penang’s museums and temples down to its fine details. While in Singapore, the group witnessed how they’ve put up their grand museums, showcased artifacts and planned visual displays together with new technologies.
The museums that they went through were varied with a common denominator of having a soul that is preserved, shown and expressed in their structures, ornamentations and culture. Manila museums are great – showcasing the Filipino culture and heritage well. A visit to the National Museum of the Philippines should be in each Filipino’s bucket list. Ayala museum has a modern approach to presentation and is also a must-see while Bahay Tsinoy, did a very good job in showcasing Chinese diasporas.
Georgetown City in Malaysia can also be seen just like Cebu where we are slowly reviving our heritage site in the downtown area. Having made the trip made the members of the Sugbu Chinese Heritage Museum board embark on a common dream: To work for a heritage UNESCO award someday for Cebu City Heritage sites starting from our own museum.
As Liang puts in, they had struggled to start their plight some thirty years ago to achieve their goal in heritage conservation. It was a tough fight for advocates like him to educate the people to value heritage but it was all worth it as guidelines in restoration and building structures is the norm in the city.
Like Penang, SCHM is bent to reliving the Chinese culture and heritage that they traded in our ports, made business and offered their values to what Cebu has become. The real challenge now is to relive the details of the Chinese tradition and influences in Cebu and showcase these at the Gotiaoco building.
