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Post by Doug 周 on Nov 22, 2012 10:18:00 GMT -5
To correctly view Chinese characters please select <View>, <Encoding>, and <Unicode> option from the browser <Menu>Doug, I still can't get my hosts at LTW to give me a definitive generation poem. I guess you can arrive at one by noting each suceeding generation. Thank you for trying. I had tried to deduce my generational poem from my jiapu and could not find a pattern. See: 郑/鄭 Generation Name Listclick. BTW, LTW is our acronym for Long Tau Wan 龙头环(龍頭環), my ancestral village.
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Post by tyuti1668 on Nov 22, 2012 18:44:56 GMT -5
The Chinese characters posted by tyuti1668 and mugenpower168 are just nonsense. Just choose UTF-8 (IE: Alt + V > D / Firefox: IE: Alt + V > C) . Mainland China's default encoding is GB2312.
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Post by Doug 周 on Nov 23, 2012 8:48:07 GMT -5
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Post by douglaslam on Nov 23, 2012 10:23:47 GMT -5
We set off early today without breakfast for Carlos' ancestral village. It is all because in our excitement, I forgot to ask to be taken to Carlos' ancestral home. Therefore, I decided to return for a second visit in order to take pictures, just to complete the purpose of our visit. There was no uncertainty about the way to go this time.
We figured a half-day would have been sufficient, and that would leave us the rest of the day to do a few thing in Shekki. Since we didn't get to taste the famous lai fun noodles last time, we headed straight for a restaurant to satisfy our urge. It was the least expensive yet at 30.
We met up again with Carlos' uncle, who arrived holding a toddler, in a small four door sedan, driven by his daughter. It took just a few minutes to get to their home. From then on, a very forgettable visit unfolded. We met the most hospitable, warm, honest, enthusiastic, and friendly hosts. A short half-day call became a full day event. There was so much to talk about. Our hosts were taken aback by the photos which Carlos had sent me. They had never seen them. It was simply a matter of just forwarding the link to our host to reproduce them.
Our hosts opened up to me. Carlos' side of the family in China and the village were so typical of what had happened to many families in the Pearl River Delta. Many heart-breaking tragic stories of hardship, deprivation, despondence were played out. Once again, I would like to re-tell with the aid of photos.
We also ate out at lunch time. Our hosts just wouldn't let me pay even after I had given the waiter the money. As is customary, I gave the little toddler a 100RMB bill, otherwise, I spent very little today. The daughter then took us to Carlos' other uncle's home. We had another long conversation centred around their family. I felt privileged, privy to so much of the family's history. (Transport cost: 18)
As my little dinner party was on in the evening, we had to make our exit in order to get back home on time. The Ma family, as they all belong to, made my party felt so welcomed that we we didn't feel like strangers. It was a very satisfying day.
There is more to the visit but I just don't have enough time to write up. Tomorrow, we are setting off for Canton, trying out the high speed lightrail. Our plan is to stay in Guangzhou for about two nights, then it is Hoiping bound. We Chose going to Guangzhou first to avoid the possibiliy of turning up in Fay Chee's village only to find the office closed on the weekend.
I'll try to find a place to go online in Guangzhou and Hoiping.
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Post by helen on Nov 23, 2012 15:04:28 GMT -5
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Post by douglaslam on Nov 23, 2012 17:52:27 GMT -5
Helen, early A.M. here, setting off for Canton in a few moments. Most incredible experience with Carlos' family in China yesterday. I hope I can get something just as exciting with Fay Chee's in Hoiping. Ming is taking care of accomodation in Canton, he knows the city well. Failing that we'll use 7 days. It is a bit damp and cool to sleep on park benches.
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Post by kaluosima on Nov 23, 2012 19:09:27 GMT -5
woww , thanks so muchhh , here in peru we are so happy
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Post by FayChee on Nov 23, 2012 19:23:03 GMT -5
Douglas,I hope you have a good trip to Canton and that contact with my village next week will be as nice of an experience as with Carlos's.
Fay Chee
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Post by helen on Nov 24, 2012 0:19:48 GMT -5
Helen, early A.M. here, setting off for Canton in a few moments. Most incredible experience with Carlos' family in China yesterday. I hope I can get something just as exciting with Fay Chee's in Hoiping. Ming is taking care of accomodation in Canton, he knows the city well. Failing that we'll use 7 days. It is a bit damp and cool to sleep on park benches. Lap Chi has left on a 6 day tour somewhere - will be back on 29th and leaving for home on 30th. Happy travelling in Canton and Fay Chee country.
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Post by FayChee on Nov 24, 2012 23:32:17 GMT -5
Douglas, I emailed my nephew in Tennessee and asked if there was anyone that he knew of who could direct you to my dad's Ancestral home. I waited and waited, and finally his wife called me tonight and said that there was a cousin still living in the village that had a key to the (empty) house. She said that she did not know if he was around at this time, but would try to call someone in the morning and see if there is a phone number for him. She said that she would call me and let me know in the AM. Keeping my fingers crossed. Fay Chee
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Post by FayChee on Nov 26, 2012 9:32:44 GMT -5
Hi Douglas, I sent you the contact information for a cousin in dad's village who has the key to the house, and his phone number, to your private email here.
I hope it will be helpful.
Thank you, Fay Chee
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Post by tyuti1668 on Nov 26, 2012 15:59:58 GMT -5
Your relative's number is from China Telecom CDMA service. Mainland China: Just dial the 11-digit as ANY mobile #. Outside China: Service provider + Country code (86) + Area code (Jiangmen: 750/ 20: Guangzhou/ 760: Zhongshan/ Dongguan: 769 | may NOT need in mobile #) + Phone# Most simcard's incoming call is FREE within Guangdong. ;D
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Post by FayChee on Nov 26, 2012 19:51:38 GMT -5
Thank you Tyuti. It sounds easy enough...
Fay Chee
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Post by douglaslam on Nov 27, 2012 7:03:42 GMT -5
I am back in my village and more familiar surrounds after a whirlwind visit to Canton. I got to Fay Chee's village on Monday, 26, Nov. late in the afternoon after my party's arrival from Canton. To cut everything short, Fay Chee, you and your brother will be blown away by what I've found about your father's and therefore your ancestral home. Chaoyang is not even a village; it is a "li", a sub village. At present it has only about six or seven households and less than thirty inhabitants. I think the house has changed little, only some remedial work done by your nephew, since your father left it over a century ago. It is still sound structurally. Just like your father's time the young people are elsewhere seeking a better life.
The house is gutted, stripped of just about everything, no photos on the wall. The family altar on the loft is also bare after Mao's Red Guards had been through the house probably more than once. It has no electrical wiring, no running water as against others.. Chaoyang is still very much a rural village. It supports no shops, too small.
This is how the day unfolded. We left Canton in the morning after breakfast, and headed for the bus terminal. The fare was 192 (for three). The trip took over two hours because of delay on the tollway. I called Henry's nephew ahead, and he already had planned for us to stay at the same hotel where he had been about six years ago. Monday was coldest day since my arrival in China, and there was rain. We arrived in heavy rain, and hoped on a three-wheel motorised pedicab. I agreed to the fare of 10 for the short ride to the hotel. We booked into a three person room for 278.
The hotel is quite big, and probably the best in Taishan. We were in th old wing. After lunch, and the best fried rice for sometime, we returned to our room to wait for Shi Cheng.
In my naivety, I thought it was simply a case of catching a bus to Chishui, the zhen ( which I called rural town centre), and get a cab to Dajin, the village, and look for Chaoyang. I was counting on Shi Cheng to call the village chief''s wife, and alert her of my arrival the next day. Things just don't work that way. I was left with a choice to go on the same afternoon or the next day. I decided to do it there and then, and hired Shi Cheng's friend to provide transport on his passenger van. Shi Cheng assured me it was feasible to get to the village and back even late in the afternoon.
We set off at 4 P.M. Much of the travel was on a one lane unlit country road for the 80 plus km round trip. We passed mainly traditional farmland. Even in the dim wet afternoon, it was a refreshing sight. The driver is a friend of Shi Cheng. Even he had difficulties in finding Dajin, then Chaoyang. They both had excellent local knowledge. If you don't speak the local dialect, you are likely to hit a brick wall. Locals are sceptical of outsiders. The last bit of travel to Chaoyang was on a concrete-paved single-track narrow road. BTW Shi Cheng had an attack of travel sickness on the way there. He spewed his guts out.
On our way home, we stopped at Chishui for dinner. We dined at a restaurant highly recommended by the driver. He knew the cook. All ingredents were produced locally. We had eel rice, catfish soup with black bean and dried mandarin peel. The fish and ells were trapped in local unpolluted streams. The farm produce was from local farmers. Ming said it was simply the best eel rice he had tasted, and the soup was just so delicious and rich. You can pay twice as much elsewhere and not getting the same high quality. A very unforgettable meal. Fay Chee, you must ask for this local cuisine when you are here.
My full photo report when I am back in Sydney. Fay Chee, you can't do without local guides like Shi Cheng and his driver friend. Shi Cheng's English is OK.
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Post by FayChee on Nov 27, 2012 10:31:31 GMT -5
Douglas, thank you so much for traveling to my dad's Ancestral home! I wish I could have gotten Szeto Shum's contact information to you sooner, but I didn't even know that he existed until my niece sent the information. I am glad that you could see the inside of the house anyway, so now I know that there are no old photos on the wall to hang a picture of dad next to. If I go to China in April, I will hang his photo on the wall anyway and set up a family alter. I hope to find where granddad and his family are buried so that I can do a Ching Ming for them.
I will definitely ask Shi Cheng and the driver to be our guides, especially since they now know the way to this tiny village. I hate to admit that I giggled a little when reading about Shi 'spewing' his guts out, only because I can relate to this experience personally.
I never imagined that the village would be so small. I love that there is active farming going on. I can't wait to try the eel rice and all the fixings!
Thank you for doing this wonderful favor for me Douglas. Your visit has opened a door to my dad's past that I willl now explore and cherish. I can't wait to see your photos.
Fay Chee
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