People of different clans have their own singing cultures. Their unique types of songs were formed according to their living environments. Hakka folk songs are the better known ones while the boat dwellers’ laments are known to fewer people. The boat dwellers’ laments are also regarded as fishermen’s songs, “haam shui goh” (fishermen's ballads) or Tanka songs. However, both names of haam shui goh and Tanka songs have negative connotations. Fishermen’s songs are mainly sung in ritual ceremonies, including wedding ceremonies and funeral rites. Sometimes, improvisational elements are added to the contents to match the occasions. As the society changed, the boat dwellers moved ashore. The fishermen’s singing culture has therefore largely disappeared in Hong Kong. Ms LAI Tai-kam, who has become a land dweller for years, hopes to preserve this singing culture, and thus she teaches other people to sing the boat dwellers’ laments in the park. Those who come to learn are mostly white-haired elderly women. They learn to sing the laments for the deaths of their parents in future, in order to fulfill their filial obligations. Since most people of the previous generation are illiterate, the laments have long been taught and learnt orally. Meanwhile, there are only very few written records about the laments, so that singers can only pass them on by word of mouth, which has also led to the decline of this rich traditional culture.