森晖博物馆

Could discarded door plates hold stories? At the Linhe village in Guangzhou, they do. Here at the 森曉博物館 (Senxiao Museum), also known as the Found Museum, these seemingly mundane objects whisper tales of China’s migrant workers. Chen Zhou and Zhang Xiaojing, a married couple, started collecting these remnants of demolished urban villages sixteen years ago. The 森曉博物館 showcases over 2,100 door plates, each a mosaic representing a vanished community. These plates, bearing names like Fanyang Lane No. 11 and Xiancun village, aren’t just metal rectangles. They are portals to the lives and struggles of those who once called these places home. Chen and Zhang’s collection extends beyond door plates. They’ve salvaged labor vouchers, house keys, diaries, and even discarded deity statues. These artifacts paint a poignant picture of the transient lives of migrant workers, their hopes, and their hardships. One poignant story revolves around a young girl named Xu Xiaohui. Her family left behind her certificates of merit, a testament to her academic achievements, when they moved from Linhe village. Years later, her father contacted Chen and Zhang after seeing media coverage of the museum. He informed them that the family had returned to their countryside home in Zhanjiang. The story highlights the museum’s power to reconnect people with their past. The museum’s collection also includes a wall clock donated by a former factory worker, records from a deceased music lover, and a sewing machine that evokes memories for a former nanny. Each object holds a personal connection to the donor and a story about their life in Guangzhou. The story of the door plates themselves is fascinating. Initially, trash collectors mistook Chen and Zhang for scrap metal scavengers. They advised the couple to collect steel plates over aluminum ones for better resale value. This led Chen to create a performance art piece, squatting with a sign that read, “Make a killing recycling door plates.” This act drew media attention and even police suspicion, but it ultimately helped preserve the names of the vanished villages. The 森曉博物館 stands as a testament to the lives of those often overlooked. It is a place where discarded objects find new meaning and where the stories of migrant workers are finally heard.