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Post by kcyuen on Nov 25, 2009 23:50:53 GMT -5
Hi All, I am new to this wonderful site as I just joined after discovering how this community is helping one another search for their ancestral origin and villages. I am, indeed, trying to trace my own as well. My parents came from Jiangmen in Guangdong province. I recall the name of the village to be something like "Fou Yuen Lay" where my father grew up. I tried Google maps to identify the location, and although I can see where Jiangmen city is, I am unable to find this "Fou Yuen Lay" place.
I have read many threads here, and impressed with the people responding to different needs and also the contributions made by Henry Tom on this site. I am hoping that someone would be able to point me in the right direction as I plan to go there sometime in March 2010.
Thanks to all! KC
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Post by helen on Nov 26, 2009 0:30:54 GMT -5
Welcome - I hope you get lots of help here. Can you let us know a wee bit more - like what is the family name? Do you have a photo of any headstones that may have the village name in Chinese characters? Any envelopes with names in chinese characters? Where in the world are you?
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Post by kcyuen on Nov 26, 2009 1:29:08 GMT -5
Thank you Helen, and I hope so too. My family name is Yuen è– and I am from Malaysia. Just in case the chinese character is not displayed properly, I have attached a pic. My parents left Jiangmen (Guangdong) for Malaysia in the early 40's. In my younger days, I recalled my father showing me a photo of the village 'gate' in front of the village houses. It was a tall gate that has the chinese word "Fou Yuen Lay" written across it. Unfortunately, I do not read or write chinese and do not have the photo with me, otherwise it would be very useful in my search. I also did a search on the following site but did not find a match. www.c-c-c.org/villagedb/search.cgiAppreciate and thank everyone who can provide information to help. Attachments:
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Post by helen on Nov 26, 2009 3:00:16 GMT -5
Hi KC - think the other name for Jiangmen is Kong Ming or Gong Mun.
From wiki
The port of Jiangmen, previously romanised as Kong-Moon, was forced to open to western trade in 1902. One legacy of this period is an historic waterfront district lined with buildings in the treaty port style.
Jiangmen was proclaimed a city in 1951, and later became the administrative capital of the prefecture for the Wu Yi region which includes Taishan, Kaiping, Xinhui, Enping and Heshan.
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Post by Henry on Nov 26, 2009 9:42:44 GMT -5
Hi KC,
Welcome to the Forum.
Your ancestral village looks like it is located around Xinhui, just outside of Jiangmen. If you can find and post that photo of the village gate, I believe, I may be able to locate your ancestral village for you.
I just returned from a 2 week cruise of several SE Asian countries, I had the pleasure of visiting Kota Kinabalu, capital of Sabah, Malaysia - it was a very interesting place. I bought several bags of the sliced banana chips - quite tasty and addictive.
Henry
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Post by twoupman on Nov 26, 2009 16:38:49 GMT -5
KC, Your Fou Yuen Lay is (阜元里), Fuyuanli/Fauh Yuhn Leih and is inside Jiangmen City (江門市) in the area east of Donghugongyuan (東湖公園) a very large park in the center of the city. The village cannot be found on Google maps. The main intersection is Shuinanlu (水南路) and Zhupaijie (竹排街); it is one street west of the latter. When you enter the lane you will probably still find the archway (Pailou 牌樓) with the name of the village on it. There is also another village beside it called 長發里 Changfali/Cheuhng Faat Leih. The next road east of Zhupaijie/Juk Paaih Gaai (竹排街) is Didonglu/Taih Dung Louh (堤東路) which is beside the Jiangmen River (江門河). If you are going to visit your ancestral village (it is a lane now) you can stay at a hotel close by which is beside the park mentioned above on Xiangkoulu/Heung Hau Louh (香口路) and is called Yinjingjiudian/Ngahn Jing Jau Dim (銀晶酒店). houseofchinn.com
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Post by Henry on Nov 26, 2009 17:47:51 GMT -5
Hi KC, You are most fortunate to have the help of twoupman, who can read & write Chinese and is also an excellent map reader. Although I cannot read or write Chinese, I can provide you with some maps to help you locate your ancestral village. The following map provides and overview of the region: This second map shows you your ancestral village: mysite.verizon.net/vzepzaui/Fou Yuen Lay.jpg[/img] I believe that there are budget airlines from Malaysia to Macau and you can take a taxi from Macau to the Gongbei Border crossing. From there, you can take a bus or taxi to Jiangmen, which has many good hotels that you can stay at - when you visit your ancestral village. Henry
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Post by tyuti1668 on Nov 26, 2009 20:08:38 GMT -5
KC, Your Fou Yuen Lay is (阜元里), Fuyuanli/Fauh Yuhn Leih and is inside Jiangmen City (江門市) in the area east of Donghugongyuan (東湖公園) a very large park in the center of the city. The village cannot be found on Google maps. ... Google are using service from " Mapabc" . The competitor "Mapbar" did record " the village" - History facts about that village from JMnews
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Post by kcyuen on Nov 27, 2009 10:19:04 GMT -5
Wow! I am soooo excited already. You are all fantastic!! Many thanks to twoupman and Henry for all the valuable information, and to Helen for getting clarity with my initial post. I am indeed grateful.
YES, twoupman, when I read Changfali/Cheuhng Faat Leih in your reply, I immediately recall these same words when my father talked about his village and how he roamed around the neighbourhood in his younger days. And most certain the Pailou is the clear landmark that I should locate.
And, thanks for the map, Henry. I'll get a friend who reads chinese to help. Good to know that you had a nice visit to Kota Kinabalu. If you are in to seafood, they have huge tiger prawns. I am from Kuala Lumpur and seldom get a chance to go there.
Thanks tyuti1668, I'll explore Mapbar more.
My brothers and I are looking forward to our visit, and it's going to be so fulfilling for us. Simply awesome.....
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Post by geoff on Nov 27, 2009 22:06:14 GMT -5
KC
Please let us know about your visit to your village on your return.
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Post by kcyuen on Dec 31, 2009 21:01:52 GMT -5
Happy New Year to all! I went to Jiangmen on a recon trip 2 days ago via Hong Kong to check prior to having my brothers/cousins visit in a couple of months. FuYuan Li is still there, and close to SuiNan Lu. It was made easy to find with the directions and information from twoupman and Henry. I also found information that the Jiangmen state coucil has gazetted some areas for cultural heritage protection and FuYuan Li is most probably one of these sites. Here's a photo of the pai-lou. Attachments:
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Post by kcyuen on Dec 31, 2009 21:04:14 GMT -5
This is another photo of the pai-lou from the side. I was expecting an archway and I asked some local residents. They said there was indeed another archway but it was demolished years ago. Attachments:
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Post by kcyuen on Dec 31, 2009 21:06:54 GMT -5
This is one of the lanes between the stone/brick houses. The lanes are only wide enough for carts, bicycles, motorcycles and certainly not cars. These houses are solidly built and must have been there for 100 years or so. Attachments:
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Post by kcyuen on Dec 31, 2009 21:16:07 GMT -5
I'm glad to see that these houses are all occupied and not left to ruins. With them in rows, they look like identical townhouses and each has its own center courtyard. Our family members are planning a 'little' reunion there in a few months. It will be fun. BTW, the bus journey from Hong Kong (Tsuen Wan) to Jiangmen takes about 3.5 hours and the fare is HKD 120 (about USD15). Thanks to everyone on this forum ... you've been a terrific help! Best regards and HAPPY NEW YEAR !! KC Attachments:
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Post by helen on Dec 31, 2009 23:22:53 GMT -5
Those narrow lanes look esactly like the ones I saw in Hargee Village. Some were still being lived in. My husbad's Great Grandfather bulit his at the turn of the last century - early 1900s. Made of similar material. Glad you had a good visit before the next one in a few months. At least you know what to expect. I only had one shot - and regret not staying a wee bit longer.
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