[1][2] The creation of the museum was spearheaded by Harry Wu, a well-known Chinese dissident who himself served 19 years in laogai prisons;[1][2] it was supported by the Yahoo!

[2][3] The Chinese penal system includes numerous components such as prisons (formerly referred to as laogai), re-education through labor or laojiao camps, ankang mental health facilities, and juvenile detention centers.

[2] Prisoners in these camps are said to undergo forced labor and thought reform,[4] and the system has attracted widespread criticism from the international community.

[2] The museum documents the "history and structure of the laogai," and displays laogai-related materials such as uniforms, photographs, government documents, and products manufactured by prisoners[2]—including such items as Christmas lights, tea bags,[3] and plastic flowers;[6] many of the items were donated by laogai survivors, and others come from Wu's own archives.

after the company attracted criticism for helping Chinese police locate and detain internet dissidents.