Forever Lake?

[stanley]

Dear All,

Let me begin with my sincere appreciation to all who have contributed to this forum and thank god I stumbled upon this forum. It is really a big help.

I was born in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, my parents too were born there, my grandpa died when my dad was just 10 yrs old. My grandpa came to then Malaya with his elder sister. From the memories and hear-say of close relatives, they came from a place called "Yun Fu Hee" in Hakka.. or "Weng Wu Hei" In Cantonese. In English it means " Forever Lake town". My surname is LIM (/LAM/LIN) and my grandpa speaks some Fujian and Hakka. They speak Huizhou Hakka and supposingly their hometown was somewhere in Guangzhou/Huizhou province.
I have also heard from a friend whose ancestral hometown is DANSHUI and he told me he passed by a place named similar to my ancestral hometown on the way t0 DANSHUI from Guangdong. He couldn't offer any further information.

If anyone who knows a good detailed map of this province or any information that might be related, please reply. I am planning to depart for Guangzhou in next 3 weeks for this quest, bringing my family along. It's my very first time to China and hopefully my determination will pay off.

Thank you .

[Ah Gin]

Stanley,

The following Chinese Gov site seems to point to the place you are looking
for:http://yhz.huiyang.gov.cn/page1.htm

Wing Wu (ÓÀºþÕò) seems to be close to »ÝÖÝ (Hui Zhou). It is very near Hong Kong. If I find more, I will post the info.

Good luck. Regards, Ah Gin

[Ah Gin]

Stanley,

Think my earlier message seems to be pointing to the right direction. A search on Wiki

zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%83%A0%E9%98%B3%E5%8C%BA

Shows that the location is the home of many Hakka folks.

And it produces good lichee and many people.

Regards, Ah Gin

[stanley]

Ahgin,

Thank you very much for your information, I will definately look up your suggestion (unfortunately I can't read Chinese!) and I do think the Yongfu just south of Heiyang is a definate possibility./

Thank you again, I'll post my experience upon my return.

[Ah Gin]

Stanley,

If you access the Chinese Google Map site ditu.google.cn/

enter the search for ÓÀºþÕò (by a cut and paste), you should see a map. It is very close to Hong Kong, towards the North East. It's a Hakka area, no question about it.

Good luck. Ah Gin

[Henry]

Hi Stanley,

Welcome to the Forum.

Looks like Ah Gin has provided what you need. I would like to add a bilingual map that will help you and enable Chinese people to also help you.

Yonghu [ Forever Lake ] is probably about a 70 mile ride from Hong Kong.

Enjoy your visit.

Henry

[Henry]

Hi Stanley,

As you will be in Guangzhou [ Canton ], you may want to contact or visit the Guangdong Overseas Chinese Affairs office. They help overseas Chinese locate ancestral villages, relatives, and possibly family genealogy books. If you need other information, please check my website:

mysite.verizon.net/vzepzaui/index.html

I suggest you take some digital photos of the graves stone of your grandfather or other close relatives that may have come from the same ancestral village - this may have the Chinese characters for his name and actual name of the ancestral village. Your grandfather may have been born in Yonghu town, but, more likely - he was born in a village near Yonghu. With this information and any other documents - the Guangdong Overseas Chinese Affairs office may be able to help you.

I would try to contact them before you go - this will allow some time for them to research. They do not usually answer emails, but, if you let them know that you will be visiting them - they may answer. Also, they may have a local contact near Yonghu that can guide you. Finally, they made be able to arrange transportation for you and the family to Yonghu. If not, the hotel where you are staying can probably charter a car for you for a day trip. It is about 80 miles from Guangzhou to Yonghu.

The following is the contact information:


Guangdong Overseas Chinese Affairs
gocn.southcn.com/english/
Email: [e-mail]
8 Haishan Jie
Ersha Island Guangzhou 510105
Tel: + 86-20-8735 3375
Fax: + 86-20-87352060

Additionally, my suggestion is to also contact Mr. Su Zhiwei in Guangzhou before going to China - another person from this Forum went to China and Mr. Su Zhiwei and his tour company were able to find the ancestral village and also provide a guide & transport for her:

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


I hope this helps - good luck !


Henry

[helen]

Hi Henry

Thanks for the map above. Do you have the part above Guangzhou? I'm looking for the Xingtang area - The green area to the right, along the railway line. That is the Zengcheng area that I come from. I'm looking for the villages dotted around the railway line.

Thanks in advance.

[Henry]

Hi Helen,

I am sending you that portion of the map in a personal message. It is much too large to post it on the Forum and I deliberately left it in high resolution so when you start zooming in - you will not lose detail. Enjoy.

Henry

[helen]

Thanks Henry - You are a great source of information and very kind.