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HELP!!
Dec 3, 2009 8:51:44 GMT -5
Post by Henry on Dec 3, 2009 8:51:44 GMT -5
Charlie,
It might help to provide Su Zhiwei before your visit with the following Chinese names and she can ask the village chief about acquiring a copy of the village genealogy book and identifying these names within the book and your village relatives. If you are lucky, you may be able to get an original copy or have a photocopy made.
Usually, the village genealogy book may start with the village founder as generation number 1 or it may extend back to the original clan ancestor for the county or for the first of your clan to come to Guangdong province. These particular ancestors are significant because they provide linking points for genealogy books for your clan - this is important because it is these link points that provide the lineage connections back to HuangDi, the Yellow Emperor (2797 BC - 2697 BC).
These Chinese names are for your grandfather and also the Chinese characters for the name of your great grandfather. With 2 successive generations, this will ensure that you have the correct branch and that this is "pedigree" descent line that you are seeking.
If you wait until you visit the village to provide the information, the genealogy book and the particular page of the genealogy may not be found so quickly - sometimes, it takes a while to read through the lineages, hence, a copy of the village may not be available in time for you to carry back home.
The genealogy book documents your family lineage and is the only document that does so in China - prior to 1949 when the Communists took over. The lineage charts also detail all your relatives and is a good way to verify villagers that claim to be your relatives.
Also, villagers are sometimes very suspicious of outsiders and are not so inclined to show their genealogy book. Remember, many of these genealogy books survived the destruction by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution because they were hidden. Bring Chinese "red" envelopes to give to the people that help you in the village, especially for the village chief.
Henry
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HELP!!
Nov 29, 2009 11:07:58 GMT -5
Post by Henry on Nov 29, 2009 11:07:58 GMT -5
Charlie,
Which email bounced?
I suggest using SKYP and calling Su Zhiwei directly at the travel agency.
China is not an email oriented country and most communication is via telephone.
Henry
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Post by Henry on Nov 28, 2009 9:44:24 GMT -5
Hi Helen & Geoff,
I would have to say that most overseas Chinese should try the Hong Kong Chinese cuisine. I believe that most overseas Chinese have been raised on wholesome Chinese food at home and have had the opportunity to taste Chinese food in Chinese restaurants, bakeries, and dim sum restaurants within the countries where they were born. But, if you really want to find out why much of China says that Cantonese cuisine is among the very best in China - just try Hong Kong cuisine - from the street food all the way up to the Chinese dishes served in the finest public and private Chinese restaurants in the famous hotels or private clubs and you will be amazed and become so proud of your Cantonese origins from Guangdong province. The food is so delicious - words cannot even describe how good it tastes.
Henry
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Post by Henry on Nov 27, 2009 12:17:12 GMT -5
Dear Friends, Chinese New Year, February 14, 2010, will be here before you know it. The New Year Picture is much revered aspect of the Chinese Spring Festival. "The New Year Picture is a unique art form in China that boasts a long history and far-reaching influence. During the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year), the Chinese decorate their homes with many New Year Pictures, the best of which can be found in Yangliuqing . Many New Year Picture artists are farmers who express their good wishes and appreciation of art and life via colorful scenes embedded in the works, exerting a subtle influence on ordinary people. The folk woodblock New Year Pictures can, therefore, be regarded as an art of the farmers in terms of production and function. A town located in the western suburbs of North China's Tianjin Municipality, Yangliuqing is one of the earliest places to employ engravers to print New Year Pictures, which were first produced between 1573 and 1620. " Yangliuqing New Year Pictures are now available from: www.cnemay.com/new-year-pictures-yang-liu-qing-c-61_85_86.htmlHenry
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HELP!!
Nov 27, 2009 8:50:25 GMT -5
Post by Henry on Nov 27, 2009 8:50:25 GMT -5
Charlie,
If you do not hear back from the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office - they sometimes are very slow in responding. I suggest going with Su Zhiwei, the travel agent. I believe he will reply promptly and his group will follow through quickly.
Henry
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Post by Henry on Nov 27, 2009 8:45:40 GMT -5
Helen,
The street food looked great, however, my wife would not let me eat any. I have never had a bad meal in Hong Kong. They were all good. I like having the morning "jook" with all the assorted toppings and the fried dough sticks. It would be so easy to move and live in Hong Kong.
Henry
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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 Henry on Nov 26, 2009 11:28:54 GMT -5
Dear Friends, This past Sunday night, my wife and I returned home and have been recovering from the jet lag/ time adjustment to the Eastern Standard Time zone. We had returned from a week of shopping in Hong Kong (HKG) and shopping at the Lowu Commercial Center [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At3M2Xkh2ew] , a 5 storey air conditioned building the size of an American football field with approximately 1800 stalls), and downtown in Shenzhen. The Lowu Commercial Center, is just a couple hundred meters from the Lowu , Shenzhen border crossing. You can take the HKG MTR (subway / Metro rail) to the last stop Lowu. There is a senior’s rate of just $5 HKG dollar each way. While shopping in HKG is great, Lowu is where you can buy all manner of Chinese goods at really cheap prices. My rule of thumb is to try to bargain the vendors down to about 30% or 35 % of the initial quote. On the ground floor in the back, there are ATM machines that you can get Chinese RMB (yuan) about $300 USD maximum withdrawal per day. Fortunately, I have several VISA credit cards. There are about 4 restaurants in the Lowu Commercial Center, however, the best place is the Laurel Restaurant on the top floor. The dim sum is outstanding and the Chinese restaurant dishes are fantastic! I took my 3 sisters and their husbands to this restaurant and we had a wonderful meal of dim sum and Chinese dishes. Peking style goose, not fatty at all, we had some clay pot chicken and some great stewed pig feet where the meat fell off the bone. I have visited well over a 100 countries in my life, with multiple visits to the same country – for example 30 plus times in China – the food in HKG and China is unbeatable – plain and simple. The only other place that comes close is Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. For shopping, downtown Shenzhen is the place – unbelievable! Shenzhen is totally awesome for the choices and cheap prices. Instead of haggling with retail vendors, we went to wholesalers for pearls, jade, clothes and bought goods at rock bottom prices. The food in HKG is very good no matter where you eat. But, there are some places that are very good. We stayed at the Panorama Hotel and nearby, we ate at a place “Kai Kee Restaurant”, 13-15 Prat Avenue, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon. The food was very good, cheap and the restaurant was very clean. Another place that we had a birthday dinner for my brother-in-law was, the Super Star Group – a restaurant chain that was excellent [ . After our 2 week cruise to several SE Asian countries, our friend invited us to dine at the restaurant in his private club. The food here was really wonderful and it was at the level that most people rave about HKG cusine. Everybody had winter melon soup served from a carved winter melon and since it had shrimp in it and I am allergic to shell fish – Bill ordered me an ox tail soup that was the best I have ever had. The meat fell off the bones and there was no fat at all and the broth was almost very light gravy that was just delicious. Eating in HKG is an experience that all overseas Chinese should have – just amazing. Henry
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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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HELP!!
Nov 26, 2009 9:15:46 GMT -5
Post by Henry on Nov 26, 2009 9:15:46 GMT -5
Hi Charlie, Welcome to the Forum! I cannot read or write the Chinese characters, however, I have the following suggestions: Check with the following organization - they assist overseas Chinese in locating their ancestral villages, relatives: Guangdong Overseas Chinese Affairs gocn.southcn.com/english/Email: gdsfqb@gdnet.com.cn Add: 8 Haishan Jie, Ersha Island Guangzhou 510105 Tel: + 86-20-8735 3375 Fax: + 86-20-8735 2060 If this organization is not helpful and/or responsive, I suggest contacting the following travel agency, which has successfully helped other members of this Forum in locating their ancestral village. While they charge a fee, they can meet you when you come in from Hong Kong and provide transportation and guide service in English to your ancestral village. I also suggest that you try to get a copy of your family genealogy book that shows the names of your grandfather and other ancestors when you visit the village. Su Zhiwei Manager of Europe & America Dept. China Merchants Travel Phone: +86-20-8331 3156, 8331 2843 Fax: +86-20-8331 2845 Email zhiweisu@vip.sina.com Regards, Henry
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Post by Henry on Nov 24, 2009 5:02:08 GMT -5
camnmaksmom,
As my friend Ah Gin indicated - "Welcome to the Forum". Yes, your family is most fortunate to have this treasure - you should have it translated.
In my experience, the usual rate for Chinese translations is about $50 USD per page, approximately 350 characters to a page). If you find someone in China, most of the younger genration will translate "simplified" Chinese characters. They will charge you extra to translate "traditional" Chinese characters because the "traditional" Chinese characters are complex and do not have as much punctuation. The older generation can translate the "traditional" Chinese characters.
My suggestion is to try to find an overseas Chinese person in the US - they can usually translate "traditional" Chinese characters. I recommend that you have all Chinese names and names of places presented in Chinese characters ( simplified and traditional Chinese characters, as well as in the Pinyin romanization - then there will not be an issue in reading the text. I also recommend that you have all the Chinese dynastic reign years translated into the Gregorian calendar.
Al Cheng is a very knowledgeable guy and a great resource.
I have just returned from a week of shopping in Hong Kong, Lowu, and Shenzhen and a cruise out of Hong kong to several SE Asian countries. My main reason to go on the cruise was to spend time with my mother who is 89 years old and all of my sisters and brother-in-laws, including me, had to try and keep up with mom.
Regards,
Henry
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Post by Henry on Oct 31, 2009 16:46:54 GMT -5
Geoff, I also love Chinese noodles. Talking about all these dishes make me hungry - yummy! Tyuti1668 - Thanks for the link: www.openrice.com/restaurant/advancesearch.htm?mapType=1I will be with my mother and she can tell me about these restaurants that are described in Chinese. Whew - off to Hong Kong tomorrow. Henry
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Post by Henry on Oct 31, 2009 8:40:45 GMT -5
Hi Tyuti1668 & Geoff,
Thank you for your responses.
My elementary Chinese character recognition skills do not really help to identify good places to eat in Hong Kong.
I absolutely love the Cantonese chicken chow mein " gong ong gai chow" with some red vinegar sprinkled over it. These days, they call it " gai see chow men ".
Another favorite is the "bok hong tee" along with the pig trotters that are sliced very thin with a vinegar light sauce and this is like a salad dish. Does anybody know what the proper name of this dish is? I just ask for "gee gek".
Henry
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Post by Henry on Oct 30, 2009 16:47:42 GMT -5
Dear Friends,
We will be spending several days, November 2 - 7, 2009, in Hong Kong before take a 2 week November 7 - 21. 2009, SE Asian cruise from and returning to Hong Kong.
Can anybody advise me on where to have dim sum, noodle restaurants, and/or dinner at Chinese restaurants.
I am looking for reasonably priced places with excellent food that is a good value for the money.
Thanks.
Henry
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Post by Henry on Oct 23, 2009 15:39:25 GMT -5
Hi Eakit, Welcome to the Forum. This is very generous of you to donate your ancestral home. I suggest that you contact the following organization : Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Bureau of Kaiping Municipality 开平市外事侨务局 wqj.kaiping.gov.cn/index1.aspAdd: 18 West Changsha Yanjiang Road, Kaiping Tel: +86 750 2215216 Fax: +86 750 2286842 english.kaiping.gov.cn/gover_affair.asp?id=571Regards, Henry
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