The South China Research Center (SCRC) is one of the institutions in the Division of Humanities at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). SCRC aims to establish and promote academic connections among scholars and institutions in South China studies. From organising field research, holding conferences, to collecting, editing and sharing archival and folk documents, they aim to position HKUST as a nodal centre of the network for scholars to exchange findings. Their goal is for their activities to enhance scholars’ understanding of the historical, cultural and economic changes of Chinese society.
Among many conservation projects on intangible cultural heritage, SCRC collaborated with Ms Lai Tai Kam on the Fisherfolk’s Lament Conservation Project, which has trained several dozens of lament singers, established a Lament Workshop, and published a book of 63 laments, titled Songs of the Floating Population (2017).