A visitor listens to dialects of various regions in Hunan at the Exhibition Hall of the Project for the Protection of Language Resources of China in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, Aug. 24, 2026. A new exhibition hall dedicated to the preservation of China's diverse language resources opened on Monday in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, bringing a decade-long effort to document languages and dialects to the public through digital and interactive displays. The Exhibition Hall of the Project for the Protection of Language Resources of China, located in the Hunan Museum, brings together recordings and other language materials collected from more than 1,800 field survey sites across China, covering Chinese dialects, ethnic minority languages and related cultural traditions. (Xinhua/Xue Yuge)
CHANGSHA, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Putting on headphones at a new exhibition hall in central China, visitors can hear a chorus of voices from across the country, including regional dialects, traditional songs in ethnic minority languages and field recordings of languages on the verge of extinction.
The Exhibition Hall of the Project for the Protection of Language Resources of China opened Monday in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, bringing decade-long efforts to document languages and dialects to the public through digital and interactive displays.
Located in the Hunan Museum, the exhibition brings together recordings and other language materials collected from more than 1,800 field survey sites across China. More than 30 language-related cultural relics are also on display.
The recordings represent 10 major Chinese dialects and more than 100 ethnic minority languages, including Mongolian, Tibetan, Uygur and Zhuang, said Chen Xuliang, deputy Party secretary of the Hunan Museum.
"Digital technology is helping bring the results of language preservation research out of databases and into public cultural spaces," he said.
The exhibition draws on materials collected through a national language preservation project launched in 2015 to document and preserve the country's diverse languages and dialects. It is the world's largest project of its kind, according to experts.
Over the past decade, researchers have traveled to remote mountain villages and pastoral areas to find native speakers of different ages. They systematically recorded words, grammatical examples, oral traditions and other language materials, turning oral memories at risk of disappearing in digital records that can be preserved for generations.
The work has become increasingly urgent as the number of native speakers of some languages declines.
China is home to more than 100 languages and numerous dialects. Some languages, including Hezhen and Manchu, now have fewer than 100 speakers.
Economic integration, population mobility and the social changes they bring are making it increasingly difficult to preserve languages and cultural traditions around the world, said Wang Lining, a professor at Beijing Normal University's School of Chinese Language and Literature and a participant in the language preservation project.
Many languages lack well-developed writing systems, Wang said, meaning knowledge and memories passed down orally can be lost when their speakers die.
The new exhibition aims to bring such preservation work closer to the public. It also promotes the principles of the "Yuelu Proclamation," which was officially released in 2019 and described as UNESCO's first permanent document themed on the protection of linguistic diversity.
Experts attending the exhibition's opening said a key challenge is how to use artificial intelligence and digital museum technologies to turn vast collections of field recordings into cultural experiences the public can engage with.
For Wang, documenting endangered languages is only the beginning.
"In the past, the focus was on recording endangered languages and preserving samples of their voices," she said. "In the future, preservation needs to move toward keeping languages alive."
The exhibition hall, Wang said, is part of that shift, taking language resources beyond academic research and bringing them closer to everyday life. ■
People visit the Exhibition Hall of the Project for the Protection of Language Resources of China in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, Aug. 24, 2026. A new exhibition hall dedicated to the preservation of China's diverse language resources opened on Monday in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, bringing a decade-long effort to document languages and dialects to the public through digital and interactive displays.
The Exhibition Hall of the Project for the Protection of Language Resources of China, located in the Hunan Museum, brings together recordings and other language materials collected from more than 1,800 field survey sites across China, covering Chinese dialects, ethnic minority languages and related cultural traditions. (Xinhua/Xue Yuge)
This photo taken on Aug. 24, 2026 shows an interior view of the Exhibition Hall of the Project for the Protection of Language Resources of China in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province. A new exhibition hall dedicated to the preservation of China's diverse language resources opened on Monday in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, bringing a decade-long effort to document languages and dialects to the public through digital and interactive displays.
The Exhibition Hall of the Project for the Protection of Language Resources of China, located in the Hunan Museum, brings together recordings and other language materials collected from more than 1,800 field survey sites across China, covering Chinese dialects, ethnic minority languages and related cultural traditions. (Xinhua/Xue Yuge)
Children perform at the opening ceremony of the Exhibition Hall of the Project for the Protection of Language Resources of China in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, Aug. 24, 2026. A new exhibition hall dedicated to the preservation of China's diverse language resources opened on Monday in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, bringing a decade-long effort to document languages and dialects to the public through digital and interactive displays.
The Exhibition Hall of the Project for the Protection of Language Resources of China, located in the Hunan Museum, brings together recordings and other language materials collected from more than 1,800 field survey sites across China, covering Chinese dialects, ethnic minority languages and related cultural traditions. (Xinhua/Xue Yuge)
Exhibits of oracle bone inscriptions are displayed at the Exhibition Hall of the Project for the Protection of Language Resources of China in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, Aug. 24, 2026. A new exhibition hall dedicated to the preservation of China's diverse language resources opened on Monday in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, bringing a decade-long effort to document languages and dialects to the public through digital and interactive displays.
The Exhibition Hall of the Project for the Protection of Language Resources of China, located in the Hunan Museum, brings together recordings and other language materials collected from more than 1,800 field survey sites across China, covering Chinese dialects, ethnic minority languages and related cultural traditions. (Xinhua/Xue Yuge)
SOURCE/AUTHOR : XIN HUA NEWS/HUAXIA
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