Page 9 - YunnanTourismCultureTimes (112)

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FOCUS | 焦点

When fairy tales become reality

当童话照进现实

“A perfect new destination for weekends!” a Longquan Ancient Town Museum Cluster in
visitor enthused. “It’s truly astonishing,” another Kunming, instantly transports visitors back to
commented, “the figures are merely thumb-sized, their childhood. Tin frogs, wind-up ducks, small
yet every detail of their expression and movement bicycles, mini televisions... various retro toys
is incredibly lifelike.” A parent noted, “My child awaken the collective memories of those born in
was instantly captivated upon entering the exhi- the 1980s and 1990s!
bition hall, exploring the museum for the entire The Toy Museum preserves approximately 700
afternoon. Such a brilliant combination of history toys, including ancient popular ones like Cuju (an
and art makes it an absolute must-visit.” ancient football game) and Luban locks. These
To celebrate International Children’s Day on pieces exude a unique charm, reflecting the ingen-
June 1, 2025, the Kunming Museum unveiled ious design and wisdom of their ancient creators.
“Children’s Museum of World History: Little Tin Imagine ancient children gathered together, play-
Soldiers, Big Stories.” This exhibition, presented ing with these very toys, intently solving puzzles,
by the Sou Mong Silver Horse team, features a their laughter echoing through time.
collection meticulously amassed over 50 years in A visiting tourist recalled, “Back in our day,
Europe by two generations of the Sou Mong fam- if we loved a song, we’d painstakingly copy its
ily, seasoned collectors from abroad. Comprising lyrics into a special notebook. We’d even enlist
101 famous world historical stories, it offers an friends with beautiful handwriting if ours wasn’t
educational and entertaining experience designed perfect, just to make it look good, then fill the
to broaden understanding of global history. empty spaces with celebrity stickers. It strikes
The exhibition features over 30,000 artifacts. me now that the same people who are avid scrap-
Among the exhibits are unique pieces as tiny as a bookers today must be those who cherished creat-
1 cm miniature pinky finger, the world’s smallest ing those lyric books back then.”
0.5 cm mini collectible, and 1.5 cm 3D cavalry Beyond its extensive toy collection, the mu-
figures made by Austria in 1940 using then-rare seum also proudly presents a Dian Culture Wall,
plastic. Also showcased are wooden sailing war- featuring Kunming dialect children’s rhymes
ships and iron handcrafted mini warships; an air- that often prompt visitors to instinctively read
craft carrier is only a dozen centimeters long, yet them aloud. To enrich the visitor experience with
its cannons can rotate 360°, alongside frigates and hands-on activities, the museum has also estab-
submarines as small as 1 cm. lished numerous Intangible Cultural Heritage
The exhibition not only presents rare mini tin (ICH) handicraft projects. “These include simpli-
soldiers but also spans world history. The entire fied filigree enamel, bamboo weaving, tie-dyeing,
exhibition traces the development of human his- batik, foil painting, and clay sculpture,” explained
tory starting from “Homo sapiens” over 40,000 Cui Lisheng, director of the Toy Museum. “Our
years ago, covering European history and world aim is that through these accessible ICH crafts,
war history. It recounts events like Columbus dis- children and a wider audience can grasp what
covering the New World, Genghis Khan conquer- ICH is and be inspired to explore it further.”
ing Europe, the Battle of Waterloo, and the attack
on Pearl Harbor—presented to the audience like
dozens of condensed films, all at once.
Stepping into the Toy Museum, part of the