Digital Preservation 002 - Tai O and Santau

About the Project

This project is a collaborative initiative between the HKUST Library and Prof. Siu Woo CHEUNG, Associate Professor Emeritus of the School of Humanities at HKUST. It aims to digitally preserve two community heritage galleries on Lantau Island: the Tai O Fishermen's Gallery (大澳漁家影像館) and the Santau Farm Life Gallery (䃟頭村農家生活館), which face imminent demolition.

Both galleries were established to document and celebrate the distinct ways of life of two Lantau Island communities. As the physical spaces of these galleries are at risk of being lost, this project ensures that their stories will endure through digital means. Visitors can explore immersive 360-degree virtual tours of both galleries, walking through the exhibitions of photographs, artefacts, and community narratives that once lined their walls. 

The documentary videos and photographs of both galleries have also been archived in DataSpace@HKUST, the university's institutional data repository, ensuring their long-term preservation and open access for future generations. By making these materials openly available, they can serve as a foundation for scholarly inquiry in the fields of digital humanities,  anthropology, community heritage studies, and other disciplines. The materials will continue to invite researchers to revisit, reinterpret, and build upon this record of Lantau Island's living communities. 

項目簡介

本項目由香港科技大學圖書館與人文學部前成員張兆和教授合作推行，旨在以數碼方式保存大嶼山兩所即將清拆的社區文化展館——大澳漁家影像館與䃟頭村農家生活館——的珍貴歷史記憶與文化遺產。

隨著兩所展館面臨清拆，其所承載的社區記憶亦面臨永久消失的危機。本項目透過360度互動虛擬導覽，讓公衆得以身臨其境地探索兩所展館，細覽館內陳設的歷史照片、文物及社區故事。與此同時，兩所展館的影片及照片資料亦已存入香港科技大學機構數據庫DataSpace@HKUST，以確保這批珍貴的文化遺產資料得以長期保存，並向公衆開放查閱。除保育目的外，這些數碼資料亦作為開放學術資源，供日後各類研究項目取用，無論是數碼人文、口述歷史、社區遺產研究，抑或其他相關學科，研究人員均可在此基礎上，對大嶼山社區的生活傳統作進一步的探索、詮釋與深化研究。