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Post by kaluosima on Dec 24, 2012 13:59:02 GMT -5
Douglas, It's incredible , you taken good photos , well Everyone in my family are happy . My family and me say thanks so much Douglas . So Merry Christmas for you and you family and everyone in the forum . I hope see you the next year in China for adventures let me save money and travel .
Again Thanks Douglas
Kaluosima
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Post by helen on Dec 24, 2012 15:34:11 GMT -5
We should all arrange a November holiday - I did that with a forum poster about 4 years ago. We met up in the village area - she from USA and me from NZ. We would have such a lovely time visiting each others villages - by local transport.
Merry Christmas everyone. And may 2013 hold many more treasures to find, and a China trip for all
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Post by chansomvia on Dec 24, 2012 16:37:49 GMT -5
Hello Helen and fellow forum members,
A Happy Xmas and Prosperous New Year to you all and family, what a wonderful idea to have a gathering in China, keep me posted. Joe
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Post by helen on Dec 24, 2012 17:15:02 GMT -5
Merry Christmas Joe - and wishing you all the best for 2013.
Maybe we should start a thread on a possible Canton Meet in November. Then we can see how many people are interested - and make plans from there?
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Post by tyuti1668 on Dec 25, 2012 22:53:59 GMT -5
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Post by douglaslam on Dec 26, 2012 3:30:25 GMT -5
Meeting up in China in Nov., 2013 ? I like the idea. Tyuti1668, we are already getting a light rail, where can we place the metro? We were all happy and jubilant in finding Fay Chee's village and house. The logical thing to do is to celebrate and have dinner. Our driver took us to Chishui and stopped outside a restaurant called New World. It is a typical village eatery, its appearance belies what it is capable of serving up. We were ensconced in a private room. The cook dropped by to have a chat. He knew the driver well, and we dined on his suggested fare. As usual we start off with a soup. Cantonese are the only people in China who are particular about their soup. A good soup is about matching the right ingredients, not just throwing everything in the pot and hope for the best. This is a catfish soup with black beans, dried mandarin peel, and other complimentary ingredients. The result is a rich, nourishing concoction. The soup is extra special because the catfish were trapped in the wild. On the right is a beef tendon dish. Beef tendon can be like shoe leather if not done properly by the cook. Here, we have a dish that retains the essential texture of sinewy tough tendon, which absorbs the goodness and taste of the accompanying ingredients. I can't remember what the dish on the left is, I can see sweet potatoes (or was it papaya) are featured. There is one dish missing from the photo, that of yam(or taro) with pork. The yam was heavenly, it melted in the mouth. On the right corner is the dish I was not comfortable with. The dish comprises of deep fried tiny migratory birds. I was reluctant to go against my guests' choice. I ate one and didn't enjoy it. This is how small the bird is when compared to a sp-oon. I just can't devour a little a bird which flew in from the freezing north, only to end up on someone's dining table. It deserves better. This the star attraction, the famous Toishan eel rice. It is an absolute delight. You just can't compare the same dish with eel raised artificially. Ming had three helpings, he could not stop talking about it after our return to Chungshan. The evening's dining was simply superb. It was certainly one of the highlights of my trip. This is our hotel room at the Gaoye Hotel, it is not very spacious. The beds had been slept in. It is actually a twin bed two person room, with a third bed added. The tariff was reasonable @ 278 RMB ( about US$45) which includes buffet breakfast. Looking out of the windows, a gloomy overcast sky is enveloping Taicheng. You can make out the river in the foreground. Notice the low bridge spanning the river, a clear indication that boat traffic is now impossible, not large boats of the old days anyway. Fay Chee, it is quite possible that your father and his father before him had to walk from Chao Yang to Taicheng, a distance of 40 km or more on an unpaved dirt road, in order to get on a boat for Hong Kong, and thence to the gold mountain over a hundred years ago. Come April, you could then re-live that experience.
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Post by lachinatown on Dec 26, 2012 10:57:06 GMT -5
Douglaslam, what are those buildings on each side of the bridge? Residental?
Also Douglaslam, the hotel looks very grand on their site.
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Post by douglaslam on Dec 28, 2012 4:40:53 GMT -5
Lachinatown, we spent less than 24 hours in Toishan. the weather was just not favourable for a walk. I think the tall buildings on the opposite bank are unit blocks with shops on the ground floor. I want to show a few snaps from my visit to Helen's village. The hard part is to choose the exceptional ones and spin a story from the dozens I have taken. I have been talking about visiting her village often, and I made the move unaided. I felt confident enough. It was a beautiful day, more like summer than autumn, one of a few really fine days I encountered. No doubt Heelen would be familiar with all the places I have captured on camera. Step 1 ; get the city bus to the main terminus where intercity and regional buses leave from. This is part of the huge bus interchange. Like most public transport facilities, they cater for the masses. China may be heavily populated, in this part of the country the population is very evenly spreading out. The bus took me to Xintang, and I hoped on a motor bike taxi for a quick ride to the village Gwa Leng. I had no idea how to link up with another bus. I took the easy way out for just 15 RMB, not even an amount for a flagfall on a Sydney taxi. Greeted me at the village entrance were many tall buildings, many were unoccupied. Town planning in rural China is haphazard at best. Just take a look at this. This would certainly not be allowed to happen with proper town planning. Here, a taller building is erected only a few feet from an existing building with no regard to the older building owners' rights to sunlight, views and air flow. How would you feel? This is a scene I always find soothing and relaxing; free running chickens clucking, scratching the earth. I don't believe in caged chickens for egg production. There is a pond at the centre of the village, close to a school. I don't see many people, it is quiet , and there is no place to sit down and buy a meal.
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Post by helen on Dec 28, 2012 15:31:45 GMT -5
Hi Douglas - great photos, and thanks for calling in. Do you have the parlow photos? Do you the Mr Wong's address? I still have my book in Canton, waiting his address, so my Uncle can send it?
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Post by douglaslam on Dec 29, 2012 4:50:23 GMT -5
Helen, I am getting on to the best known landmark not just in Gwa Leng but all of Zengcheng in a minute. My daughter scanned the letter to Lap Chi from an old fella, and Carlos' family tree together, and sent them to me, but I can't separate them. She is now in Mauritius, either I wait for her return or take them to work and have them scanned separately. Just a little longer. You can't get help but notice the village halls. This is the main one and properly maintained. There are others next to it, but in disrepair. This appears to be a purpose-built school hall from centuries back. The first of its kind I have seen. Both halls have a heritage protection notice on display. Helen, did you know this is lap Chi's old home. Gwa Leng is indeed quiet, everyone must be in New Zealand because I can't find a bloody soul anywhere, the Hall is closed, save for the old man ( as if I am still a young bloke) who opened the diaolou for my personal inspection, talked enthusiastically of Lap Chi and his brother, and later walked me to the bus terminus. Top bloke. I have yet to meet a nasty individual in any village. But he left me waiting for a long time while he went away to write the letter or something. I kept myself busy walkabout and have a look see. This is the river and what must have been the lifeblood of the village not so long ago. It would have been a delight just to sit by the river bank and watch the sampans glide by. It is now silent, no boat traffic, no one fishing or splashing, having fun in the water. The obvious cause is pollution for the water is brackish blue, most uninviting. The river maybe biologically dead. It is said in China that one denim factory or textile mill and one river is gone for good. There is more than one garment factory upstreams, and all pour untreated effluent into the waterways. This happen in my village or any others you cared to observe. A very high price China pays for economic gains. This is a sluice gate which must have reached its use by date for no one would want to irrigate the fields with the polluted water. We talked about armchair style grave sites. This is an example but from the side. The vats may contain bones, but I didn't want to lift the lids to find out.
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Post by helen on Dec 29, 2012 5:59:51 GMT -5
Lap Chi smiled when he heard that you didn't want to look inside the vats. And no - he didn't know that it was his house. Thanks for the photos - and I'll wait for the letter from Mr Wong.
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Post by FayChee on Dec 29, 2012 20:42:37 GMT -5
Douglas, you are giving us so many great pictures! Just when I think that is all .....up pop more! Please keep them coming. At first I didn't get the joke about the large vats.....then I remembered.............. Fay Chee
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Post by FayChee on Dec 29, 2012 23:34:05 GMT -5
Fay Chee, that was the reason I asked the question, about the headstone. I was wondering if they changed the boundaries, like annexation. Lachinatown, I think I found the answer to this question of Kaiping and En Ping............ "According to an old Vancouver Kaiping book I found in our family’s possession, written almost entirely in Chinese, I found a single lone page describing Kaiping in English. It had been written by a Harry James based on information he had received from a Seto Gock on April 18, 1946. " "Here, in part, is the introductory paragraph of Hoy Ping, from this 60+ year old publication: The district of Hoy Ping in Kwangtung Province was formed a little over 400 years ago from land which was formerly parts of the districts of Sun woy, Hoy Han, and Yen Ping. It is somewhat cone-shaped with the most irregular boundaries, being larger at the north end and tapering off almost to a point at the south. Its area is about 160 square miles and is bounded on the north-east by the districts of Hock Shan and Sun Hing, on the west by Yen Ping and in the east by Hoy Shan and Sun Woy. Before the formulation of the district, the area was infested by Bandits and the territory had to be “opened up” to expose and disperse them." I think Yen Ping is the same as En Ping. My dad's 2nd wife came from Sun Wei (Sun Woy) Fay Chee
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Post by douglaslam on Dec 30, 2012 1:14:09 GMT -5
Gwa Leng was settled in in the 13th century. It is one of a cluster of old villages for which Zengcheng is noted for I am now onto the famous diaolou, powlow (pow is a cannon) in our dialect, or parlow (par, possibly means cannon also) as Helen calls it. www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/kaipingdiaolou.html There are many entries on the net. This is just one, and it mentions diaolous were built to stop forays by bandits and the Japanese. This one in Gwa Leng did just that, but it could not stop Mao as we shall see later. There are diaolous, and there are diaolous, but the one in Gwa Leng is most unique because of its many features. Ning Yuen Low as it is called is a purely defensive structure, where as others elsewhere may serve as fortified dwellings. These photos show Ning Yuen Low close up. My simple idiot box camera can not do the building justice. The most unique feature of this diaolou to all others is the moat. Narrow it maybe, nonetheless it does make breaching the perimeter more difficult. It is surrounded by the same body of dirty water now, an extra dimension to the defence. Notice the plumb bulb-like four corners of the building, it is to ensure that there are no blind spots for the attackers to hide. Looking down from one of the corners, it is easy to spot the intruders and fight back, even with rocks, or hot water, if firearms are not available. The villagers holed out in the building in the past. They stock up with food, and there is a well for water. Visitors are safely protected from stepping onto the hole. Ventilation is not forgotten; this is the air vent which allows hot air to rise up to the roof top from all four floors. Guess what this is, it is something we all use every day. It is a squat toilet. Bad luck if you want privacy or not nimble enough. This is the counterweight to operate the drawbridge. It looks massive. This is the dent from a Japanese bullet. The outside walls have many such marks. The building is very very solid , and looked impregnable with small arms. The Japanese gave up because they lack big calibre guns, air support and patience. As with bandits, they could not linger for too long for help maybe forthcoming. The villagers didn't just sit there to wear the enemy out. This is how they fight back, with small calibre cannons. The cannons probably fired cannonballs, not shells. Guess where the cannons had gone? Yes, Mao got them all. In his Big Leap Forward years, he had an Eureka moment, he wanted the whole country to produce steel. So up went his backyard blast furnaces, forests were denuded to provide fuel and all metal objects were thrown in the furnace. Pop, out came useless lumps of metal that defied description. Mao, you were brilliant, the country owes you so much. This curved imported steel plate adds to the impregnability of it all. A stylish spiral staircase leads to the roof top. This fortification was the tallest building in the district. Even mow it commands a 360 degrees panoramic view of the surrounds. We can see the Ancestral Hall clearly. The Hall probably dates back to the 13th. century when the Wongs called Gwa Leng home. This is the man who shows me around and walks me to the bus stop, just to make sure I am on my way back to my aunt's safely. Of course he is a Wong, Helen's husband's village brother. Thanks heaps ,mate. It is a marvel of modern communication. Throughout my short visit to Gwa Leng, I was in contact with Helen and her husband who were in Canton at the time. It certain proved I was no imposter, and the Wong fella treated me to a VIP tour of the fort, as yet Helen herself has not step inside. Fay Chee, if time permitting, take a tour of the diaolous in Hoiping. I did that in May / June 2010. It was a wet day, there were just three persons in the group, but we had a driver and a guide. The young female guide was a Cantonse speaker. For an English- speaker guided tour, you need to book and leave from Canton. The tour always stops at Chikan, where you can check up on the Seto clan HQ, and see more examples of East/West hybrid architecture brought back by the Chinese returning from overseas. Even as recently as 2010, I didn't have a digicam, I couldn't post images of any of the sights I saw.
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Post by helen on Dec 30, 2012 5:50:14 GMT -5
Fantastic photos Douglas - as you said - you were lucky to go ups the tower. A couple of years back, the Mr Wong taking me around, decided I was too old to go up there. So I'm grateful that you got the opportunity. It was the New Zealanders who paid for both towers, following the kidnapping of all the young men and boys in the village. They were held for weeks, until big sacks of money exchanged hands. All the men were in New Zealand, and they paid a hefty ransom for the release. After the towers were built, all the boys had to stay in the tower each night - This was about 80 years ago. My old friend told me the story, and I'm sure it's the the Gwaleng Wongs book we wrote.
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