Located on the north side of the Yellow River in Jinan is a unique museum exhibiting potteries, porcelains, wood wares, and other items, and most of them were collected from surrounding villages.

Zhao Dehe, who is 55 years old, is the curator of the museum. Zhao has been interested in collecting things since he was young and has collected 1,000 personal items by 2002.

Zhao came up with the idea of establishing a village museum to exhibit items when his village and nearby villages were about to be demolished in 2017.

By 2023, Zhao's museum has collected over 10,000 items, which were collected from over 40 nearby villages. Many items were donated by the villagers for free.

According to experts that have visited the museum, many exhibits in the museum are of historical and cultural value as they showcase the local folk culture in the past.

The exhibits here have an origin and a story, Zhao said, and said farming tools were in every household in the past, but not today. Most children or young people do not even recognize the tools anymore, he added. As a result, Zhao plans to cooperate with local schools to pass down the ancient and authentic folk cultures of past generations.

Zhao Dehe checks out a vase in his museum in Jinan. [Photo/iJinan app]