01/01/2026
Hi All! Happy New Year! We've prepared a unique event for you! This is our first high-profile music exhibition. Please come and enjoy the footprints of a hundred-year-old Chinese musical tradition treasured on the first Chinese bakelits.
Looking Back: A Century of Rare Vinyl Treasures Exhibition
Exhibition Period: 31 December 2025 — 31 January 2026
Address: THE BOX Chaowai Youth Power Centre, Block B, Level L4
Sound once belonged solely to time. Grooves then gave it form, and patterns-built corridors for it. Some sounds nearly vanished with time, yet fortunately, they were preserved within the intricate grooves of vinyl. These century-old patterns slumber here, awaiting a contemporary gaze to gently awaken them.
Looking Back is not merely a gaze into the past, but a gentle awakening of history. Through minimalist contemporary aesthetics, we unravel these slumbering time capsules: from a 1902 Cantonese opera recording in San Francisco to Shanghai's flowing love songs, courtly elegance and street-level clamour. This exhibition eschews heavy-handed nostalgia or solemn historical lectures. Instead, it allows century-old soundscapes to awaken naturally within suspended light and shadow, where historical melodies meet contemporary listening.
Each record bears the imprint of its era. We present not merely artefacts, but the interwoven technical evolution, cultural context, and auditory memory behind each sound. We invite you to step into this sonic space. Listen with your eyes to the grooves. Touch time through the space. Feel the warmth and emotion from the past that still resonates with the present heart.
At the Looking Back Centennial Vinyl Treasures Exhibition, we have curated a segment of audible history, and we await your presence.
Sound once belonged solely to time. Grooves then gave it form, and patterns built corridors for it. Some sounds nearly vanished with time, yet fortunately, they were preserved within the intricate grooves of vinyl. These century-old patterns slumber here, awaiting a contemporary gaze to gently awaken them.
This exhibition showcases over 165 precious record collections, the vast majority of which are being publicly displayed for the first time by collectors. Spanning nearly a century, it offers an auditory chronicle of time.
The exhibition brings together records from numerous historically significant Chinese and foreign record companies and labels, including Columbia, Beikang, EMI, Victory, Gaoting, Great China, Kaiming, Great Wall, Guoyue, and New China Records. To contemporary audiences, these names may seem unfamiliar or even entirely unknown. Many of these entities were fleeting phenomena in history's long river, yet they endure through the medium of the gramophone record. These discs not only preserve vanished sounds but also bear the indelible imprint of their eras.
A gathering of significant exhibits:
A 1902 single-sided disc of "The Oath of Brotherhood" recorded by Chinese immigrants in the United States
Gramophone Company, Tan Xinpei's 'Selling the Horse' hand-carved disc
Gramophone Company's "The Foreigner's Laughter" Record
Gramophone Record of 'Drizzle', Regarded as China's First Popular Song
Early Mei Lanfang recording of "Red Rainbow Pass"
Complete 1960s Collection of "Melodies of Beijing" Records
These records are not only artistic documents but also historical artefacts shaped by sound. They await curious listeners, inviting you to embark on a rare sonic journey and hear echoes from the depths of time.
Sound once belonged solely to time. Grooves then gave it form, and patterns built corridors for it. Some sounds nearly vanished with time, yet fortunately, they were preserved within the intricate grooves of vinyl. These century-old patterns slumber here, awaiting a contemporary gaze to gently awaken them.