New Here. Surname Chan from Singapore

[orangeabundance]

Hi All,

I am a 3rd Generation Chinese from Singapore. I know somehow my ancestors were from Seiyap, listening from the vocabulary that my grandma used.

However, sadly, even my grandma doesn't know where my ancestors came from.

I really want to go back to my ancestral village in Sei Yap. Appreciate if anyone could enlighten me on how to find out where my ancestral village were, and if there are any reliable travel agencies that offer cheap and good travel service back to my ancestral hometown/village. My grandad's surname is Chan, my grandma is a Cheong.

One more thing, I have read that Sei Yap is a very dangerous place. Could anyone elaborate more? What can I do to avoid danger?

[Henry]

Take a digital photo of the gravestone of your grandfather. Usually, the name of the person, village, county and province in China is written in Chinese.

Also ask your grandmother to write the name of your ancestral village and the nearest larger market town.

There are reliable travel agents that can guide you to the village from Guangzhou (Canton).

SiYi is not anymore dangerous that most areas of the world. This past December, I returned from spending 3 weeks in Guangdong province visiting 23 places researching my genealogy. You can read a summary of my trip from my website on:

mysite.verizon.net/vzepzaui/Tan%20Book.html

Henry

[David Wong]

I agree with Henry. Sei Yap (Sze Yap) is no more dangerous than other places. You just have to use common sense and probably best to go with a few people to accompany along. I too am a third generation...but a Canadian.

I made my first visit to Sei Yap a few years ago. Can't read a speck of Chinese nor can i speak any Mandarin. I just repeated what I heard from my grandma decades ago, and eventually, I found my ancestral village. Since that time, I've revisited twice...and have even found the ancestral villages of my grandmothers.

Interesting to hear you're from Singapore, as I've been trying to locate a line of our family over in that part of the world...One line came to Canada, the other to Singapore. Here's my story: www.generasian.ca/roots3.html

Good luck.

[orangeabundance]

Thanks for replying. Any specific recommendations on which travel agencies or websites in Guangzhou? At least I could take a look first. How much would they charge for a 1-2 day tour? Thanks.

Regards

Rick

[Henry]

Rick,

One of the people this Forum found a travel agent in Guangzhou (Canton) who was able to help locate her ancestral village - this is the contact person:

Su Zhiwei
Manager of Europe & America Dept.
China Merchants Travel
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Email [e-mail]

Raymond already gave you the best advice:

"First things first. You need to do as much research as you can within you own family and locale before launching into a trip to Sze Yup. "

But before you the travel agent can help you - you must determine the name of your ancestral village. Just within Taishan county, there are about 4,500 villages.

Henry