Day 11 - Last Day in Mainland, China 5/17/2011 Tuesday

After got back to Huizhou from Lianghau in the afternoon on May 16^th (Monday), Amy and I had decided to go back to Hong Kong the next day. We both felt being overwhelmed by all the events and people in the last 11 days. Although her friends wanted us to stay for a few more day with more dinners being planned, they understood we needed sometime to decompress alone. My round waist was so happy that we made the decision. I simply needed to slow down on eating all the rich fatty food and caught up with my writing. I called the Metro Park Kowloon Hotel that we stayed before and made reservation for two extra nights. We had a simple light dinner (6 courses) that night at home.

After dinner, Big Dog took me to see an American movie next to the local Walmart’s Store. The movie was Fast and Furious 5. All the audiences were young Chinese kids. They all oohed and aahed over the fast cars and special effects. Of course, they had Chinese subtitles and I have to laugh at some of the translations. On the way to the parking lot after the movie, I tripped and fell and banged my lips on the concrete surface. Big Dog started to blame himself for taking me to the movie. I calmed him down and said it was all my faults as I was not looking where I was going. I also realized I didn’t have my mint leaves with me. Luckily, I did not break any of my front teeth but my upper lip was swollen up and I looked like an aardvark when I checked in front of the mirror after getting home. (Later at the dentist back in Sacramento, I found out I have two hair line fractures on both front teeth).

The next day, after dim sum at the West Lake Hotel Restaurant, Big Dog and Yeun Mae took us to the bus terminal and Yee Kwan stayed behind at the house. He bid us farewell and repeated the same offer (the 501^st time) for me to come and stay with them on my next visit. More green mint leaves were stuffed in the magazine holder at the car door on my side for good luck. It was a heartfelt goodbye. At the bus terminal, Big Dog and his mom carried our luggage all the way to the bus and we said an emotional goodbye. Big Dog especially, said he really hated to see me go. And I told him we have forged a good friendship in the last short three days. We thanked our hosts and boarded the bus.

Amy and I felt so relieved and relaxed during the 3 hours bus ride to Hong Kong. Although it was a bit of a hassle changing bus at the border and going through Immigrations. We were really happy about our trip, in search of the family history, was coming to an end. Before this trip and since I was born (in Hong Kong), I always felt like an outsider among my family whenever they recounted stories about their past in Xingning, Lianghua and Huizhou, Toll Shah Alley, the West Lake, the Farm House, the twin building stores, the lychee tree, the streams and brooks and the school they went to. I finally got to see what all these places looked like even though it took me 58 years.

None of these, of course, would have been possible without my sister Amy’s unrelenting effort in planning and connecting with all the relatives and friends. Her guidance and knowledge and great memories were most valuable on this trip. My brothers Alex, T.K., Pete and my nephew Johnny at home also gave us money to help out for the trip. My nephew Patrick also gave Amy and I, Li See (Lucky Money) for a good send-off. Their support were most appreciative, not only for their financial help, but for their acknowledgement on how important it is for me to make the connection with our family’s past and pass it on to the following generations of our family.

I felt like a heavyweight fighter at the end of 11 rounds of boxing and came out a champion. For I have gained so much insight (not to mention the weight around my waist) about my family’s past in both sights and sounds. Made connections with many good kindred spirits and a few lost souls on this trip. Learned more about my people the “Hakka people” and how they survived and thrived through hard work and tight kinship. For I have learned all Xingning people, no matter where they found each other in any part of the globe, always bond together the minute they recognized each other’s accent.

We arrived in Hong Kong and checked into our hotel and off loaded our luggage. I began to feel like a new man, not because the room was air-conditioned, not because the bathroom had sit-down toilet and warm shower and towels, not because the locals all speak Cantonese.....I felt like a new man all because I am no longer an OUTSIDER among my family.

Day 10 - Revisit Lianghua 5/16/2011 Monday

Monday morning, under an overcast sky and light drizzles we set off in the Isuzu with umbrellas, water, sweet pastry and extra branches of Yeun Mae’s green mint leaves, and headed out of town. Big Dog took a side road along the perimeter of the city and traffic soon became non-existence. Five kilometers out of town, he pointed out this huge industrial complex that house 20,000 workers. It was a clothing manufacturing facility owned by some Taiwanese company. 10 kilometers later, Big Dog got us on the toll highway and 15 minutes later we were at the exit to Lianghua. I was very glad to handover 5 yuans for the toll. Amy was so please that we never have to get on that same bumper road we experience 5 days ago.

We got on a two lanes road after exiting the toll highway and started to head toward Lianghua some 5 km away. The sky was cleared and we can see farmers were out doing their daily chores in the field. As we were driving along Amy piped up and asked Yee Kwan if he knew where Thunder God Peak (雷公領) was. Yee Kwan said it is coming up on the right soon. Big Dog asked if Amy wanted to stop there and Amy nostalgically said yes. Amy and her family spent 3 years in Thunder God Peak from 1970 to 1973. They were forced to move there during the “Downward Reform” (下放) movement when the government decided to have city folks to get a taste of rural farming life. It was the hardest time Amy’s family ever endured. Amy’s two youngest daughters, Nancy and Helen were born there.

Big Dog came to the turn off and started heading toward Thunder God Peak. We drove about 1 km and stopped in the middle of a bridge. On the other side of the bridge we can see a small village with typical single level houses clustered around along a single road. We can see a few small mountain peaks in the backdrop. We took some pictures and while Amy reminiscing her time there. Big Dog drove across the bridge and parked on the other side. We walked into the village and stopped at the very first building. It was a little grocery store with a group of men sat around a small low table playing card and smoking. They were arguing furiously about some one played a bad hand. Yee Kwan with his smiling face caught the eye of one the man and started talking to him. Soon Amy joined in speaking Hawk Lo dialect (the local dialect at that particular village and she still remember). The men stopped arguing and were all looking at us. Amy started asking these men about people she knew some 40 years ago. One of the men with big round eyes kept looking at Amy. She finally recognized the man as her ex-brother-in-law. Pleasantries were exchanged and an older man wanted to invite us for tea. We politely declined and left as we still have a full schedule ahead.

Big Dog got us back toward Lianghua and soon we were there in about 10 minutes. Once in town, he pulled the car into a vacant building which was under renovation. A young man came out and I thought he was going to tell Big Dog that he cannot park there. But, instead he gave Big Dog and Yee Kwan a warm welcome. He was Big Dog’s little cousin. We then followed Little Cousin into town and got on the main street. Little Cousin’s father (Yee Kwan’s younger brother) owned a string of property along the main street and we stopped at one of his store and paid him a visit. They were very happy to see Amy and wanted to invite us for lunch. Again, we declined and after a few rounds of tea we headed down the main street again and stopped at On Punk’s store. On Punk, his wife Han and his mother (suffered from a stroke) greeted us with great enthusiasm. The store was inside this narrow long building, neatly kept with well-stocked dry good items, soft drinks, rice wine, cigarettes and many bundles of toilet paper (for the hot summer ahead). On Punk had Han brought out a big tub of the local treat….a big pile of freshly steamed corn-on-the-cob. We all had a taste of the local treat and found it was indeed every sweet and firm with big yellow kernels.

Afterward, we walked down the main street again toward my grandfather’s vacant building with On Punk as an additional escort. I began to get a better sense of the surrounding and felt more relax as compared to our last visit. May be it had something to do with the cooler weather or the extra mint leaves we bought along. Once we got to the my grandfather’s building, Amy and Yee Kwan went in and visited Chi Keung’s rental tenant and On Punk with Big Dog began to lead me through the narrow alley between the twin building and head for Lianghua Elementary School where all my relatives once attended and my dad was a teacher.

We walked along a small back street where we found the house where my brothers once lived. I took a few pictures and went around the corner and found the school. The school was in session with the gate closed. On Punk said I can take some pictures from the outside and while I was doing so, Big Dog got on the phone. After a couple minutes, Big Dog hung up the phone and said we had permission to get inside as he just called his childhood friend, an English teacher in the school. We walked around carefully along some classrooms full of young children while teachers were conducting the lessons. The school had rows of classroom, three stories high in all three sides with a center court yard the size of half a foot ball field in the middle. Behind the left side of the classrooms was a huge playground with for soccer field and basketball courts.

A young lady walked towards me and said, “Hello!” in clear English diction. She was the English teacher. Big Dog introduced us and I tried to have a conversation with her in English but was careful not to use any ChinGlish. I told her the purpose of my visit and she told me the entire school had been rebuilt and the only thing left of the old school was a small hut used for a kitchen. We walked over to the hut and a lady was preparing lunch for the teachers. I got permission to take a few shots and we thank the English teacher and left. I crossed off one more thing off my list.

On the way back to find Amy, I saw some vendors on the main street selling gluten ball pastry (糯米池), a local sweet treat with ground peanut, sesame seeds and sugar filling, that I heard my sibling talked about all the time while growing up. I bought 5 of those huge balls and handed this grateful lady a 5 yuan note (75 cents U.S.). Amy later ate 3 of them and I only had 2. On Punk asked if I wanted to go back to the farm house again to retrieve those broken ceramic pieces I found 5 days ago. He must have read my mind as that was exactly what I wanted to do next. Big Dog, had an interest in old Chinese pottery, even went and got a little shovel from his uncle’s store in case we needed additional excavation.

We all piled back in the Isuzu and headed out of town. We found the farming village with ease and Big Dog drove us even closer to the farm house so we only needed to walk a little way before we arriving to this lovely piece of land. I have to say, I felt very drawn to this place. I just felt very connected to my grandfather at the farm house more than any place else that I visit on this trip. I felt peace and happy and relax. I really wouldn’t mind to rebuild this house again to its original glory. This time we were not in a rush and Amy was running around like a littler kid and started to explore the entire area. I went and found the pieces of broken ceramic I left in front of the ruin wall and Big Dog started to dig around the area and found more pieces. On Punk started to walk around the perimeter of the ruin wall and gave me a report that the house measured 18 meters by 10 meters. (about 1,500 sq ft.)

I heard Amy calling out from the back of the farm house ruin, behind the 100 years old lychee tree, that she found the spot where she had drowned the water buffalo when she was 8 years old. We all went over and investigate.

Apparently, when she was 8, after my parent escaped to HK, she was asked to look after this water buffalo belong to these 4 families (one cow leg per family). She led the buffalo to this tree next to a stream and tied it there and left to play. Upon her return, to her horror, she found the buffalo felt into the deep water and drowned. My Aunt at that time told her to run and hide in the next village so the angry, buffalo-less families will not persecute her. Amy ended up living and help babysitting in the next village for 3 years before she returned. Anyway, I told more pictures and we left to find the car.

At the car, right before we got in, we saw a man with a straw hat on a motor scooter coming toward us. We thought it might be Mr. Woo, the watch repairman. But as the man got closer and stopped, we saw it was a different man, darker and younger. Amy started talking to him and asked questions. But, abruptly she said goodbye to this man and hastily urge everyone to get in the car and commanded Big Dog to drive. I asked Amy what was the hurry once we were underway and she finally confessed the straw hat man was the son of one of the family that was part owner of the buffalo she had drowned some 62 years ago. The father was still alive and Amy didn’t dare to mention her name to this young man. We all laughed and teased her all the way back to Huizhou.

Day 9 - Finding Toll Shah Alley (圖沙巷) 5/15/2011 Sunday

The next day after an early dim sum breakfast at the West Lake Hotel restaurant, Amy and I with the help of the Yee Kwan’s youngest sister set off to find the house where my brother Pete was born some 62 years ago. Amy remembered the street was called Toll Shah Alley. We were told that alley was still existed, unchanged after all these years. We walked along the bank of the West Lake while admiring the peaceful and tranquil setting. There were street vendors along the bank selling joss sticks and candles for worshipers to the nearby temples. Elderly people gathered under willow trees playing Mahh Jongg and Chinese chess. Young lovers sitting along the bank and gaze each other while holding hands. After 20 minutes, we got off the lake side and went into a narrow side street which led into a main thoroughfare with shops and traffic. It was quite noisy, enough to drown off Yee Kwan’s sister’s constant bombardment about my life.

We walked along the main street for about another 10 minutes and asked some shopkeeper where Toll Shah Alley was and he pointed to this narrow alley half a block from his shop. One would have easily missed this narrow alley which was only wide enough for an American football player to go through. At the entrance, it immediately sloped down with 10 stone steps and the entire alley would hide from the street above. With Amy leading the way, I followed with great excitement and anticipation while clicking away with my Nikon. We walked the entire length of this narrow alley which lined with ancient Chinese single level houses on both side. But, Amy could not recognize which house she stayed in. She was only 7 years old then. People from some of the houses came out and started to stare at us pacing up and down the alley.

Finally, Amy stopped and asked this lady with a friendly face if she remember the Lee family that used to live around there. The lady said she actually knew that family which was two doors down from hers. Amy said we lived next door to the Lees while my Dad was working for the county government in Huizhou. So we counted three houses down from the friendly lady’s and BINGO, Amy found the house. The front door was partially open and the friendly lady said we can go in as she knew the tenants. Amy took a bold step inside and confirmed the laid out after she saw the small courtyard. There were small rooms on both side of the courtyard and a small area for cooking and washing with another larger room at the back from the courtyard. I could just see how my Mom would be able to raise 6 kids while pregnant with Pete in such a small confinement. For she was a remarkable woman.

I took more pictures and Amy further recognized the raised stone ledge outside the house which was about 4 feet above the rest of the alley. She told me one time during a heavy downpour and the low area of the alley was flooded and my Dad would not able to wade through the water. All the kids were standing on the raised stone ledge and called out to him. Amy was quite remarkable with her memory and how she can recount those details was beyond me. We thanked the good lady and left that memorable alley as I reluctantly crossed-off another item off my to-do list.

After finding my Brother Pete’s birthplace at Toll Shah Alley, we were picked up by Yee Kwan’s nephew in his brand new BMW 523i at the main thoroughfare. His nephew, a good looking young man owned a successful clothing business had just become a father few weeks ago. His mother Ah Quan (亞群), a good friend of Amy is the oldest sister of Yee Kwan, who also living with the new parents and the new baby. She originally wanted us to go to their house for lunch and a visit but due to the objection of Yeun Mae, the oldest sister had arranged for her son to host a lunch in a restaurant instead.

The reason for Yeun Mae’s objection was, get a load of this, she believed since Amy and I were travelers from a long distant and since Ah Quan’s son just had a new born baby in the house, the two events might crash and will bring bad luck to each other. i.e. Amy & I and the new family. Yeun Mae, at my first arrival, also gave me some mint-like green leaves she grew in her side yard to put into my backpack and luggage for good luck and to warn-off the evil spirits. Well, at least we don’t have to set off firecrackers at every turn. Such superstition was still running rampant in China.

Yee Kwan and Yeun Mae also had two sons and a daughter. The two sons were named Kwok Choi (陳國才)and Kwok Fai (陳國輝) but both nicknamed Big Dog and Little Dog, respectively, while they were growing up. This practice was very common in old China when child mortality rate was very high and by giving a child non-human name, the evil spirit will overlook harming the child. So there are still millions of Chinese named cats and dogs and goldfishes running around in every city. I never got to ask what the daughter’s name was. Anyway, Big Dog and Little Dog took a good liking to me and were fascinated with my life growing up in the U.S. They followed me every where and we were fast becoming good buddies. I felt I had adopted two new pets in the last three days in Huizhou.

Big Dog owned couple internet cafes and has an Isuzu sedan. I asked if he could give me a ride to Lianghua on Monday, May 16^th, for I still have unfinished business over there. Big Dog grew up in Lianghua and knew the area. Amy at the get go objected my revisit but after my persistent persuasion and assurance from Big Dog and his dad Yee Kwan that it will be alright as long as I took off the gold chain I wore around my neck so not to attract thugs. Big Dog also said he knew how to bypass the bumper road to Lianghua and it would only took an extra 10 km. Yee Kwan, still had family in Lianghua, also agreed to come with us and of course, Amy will come along as well. So the scene was set for my second visit to my family’s old home town.

Day 8 - Going to Huizhou (惠州) 5/14/2011 Saturday

On May 14^th, Saturday, Amy, On Punk and I bid farewell to Tao Sun and his family after another big round of dim sum breakfast and headed for the bus terminal to Huizhou, a developing major city only 26 km from Lianghua.

Huizhou (Chinese: 惠州; pinyin: Hùizhōu) is a city located in central Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China. Part of the Pearl River Delta, Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shaoguan to the north, Heyuan to the northeast, Shanwei to the east, Shenzhen and Dongguan to the southwest, and looks out to the South China Sea to the south. Administered as a prefecture-level city, it has nearly four million residents in its area of jurisdiction. There are two main dialects spoken by local people in Huizhou: A Cantonese dialect which is Huizhouhua (惠州話) and Hakka (客家話). The two dialects are somewhat interrelated and similar so people can easily understand each other. As more newcomers from the other provinces come to work in Huizhou, Mandarin has become the other popular language in Huizhou. (Wikipedia)

My plan was to let Amy catch-up with her childhood neighbors there and also try to find the house my brother Pete was born. Amy said she still remember what the house looked like. I would not doubt her this time. My dad, between 1946 and 1948, held a county post at that city. Peter was born in Huizhou which was also famous for its natural lake called West Lake. But, secretly I was thinking about going back to Lianghua again to get a better feel of the village, visit the elementary school and retrieved those broken pottery pieces I found at the farm house.

After we were underway and I began to express my intention to Amy about going back to Lianghua, I can feel the uneasiness in her. She really didn’t want to go back, and moreover, would not let me go there alone. I had to persuade and calm her down the rest of the 2 hours bus ride until we met her old neighbors (back some 50 years ago) at the busy bus terminal at Huizhou downtown.

We arrived in Huizhou (惠洲) around 2 PM after a two hours bus ride from Qingyuan on a modern toll highway. The plan was to get off at Huizhou and stay for 3 nights to visit Amy’s old neighbors whom she had not seen for 22 years. On Punk will change bus there and continue on to Lianghua (梁化) 26 km away.

Upon arrival we found two of Amy’s friends waiting there at the busy bus terminal where people with luggage, cars and buses were arriving and departing constantly. Her two lady friends whom were cousins to each other named Kwai Wah (家華)(70 years old) and Yeun Mae (月眉)(58 years old) were so thrilled to see Amy. I found out later that my brother T.K. once had an eye on Yeun Mae when he was young and had asked Amy to fix him up but Yeun Mae turned down the request. I tried to imagine her being my sister-in-law, but was glad of her refusal back then as I like my present sister-in-law Evelina much better.

Both women complimented on how Amy had not changed after 22 years and insisted on carrying our luggage and went toward a car driven by Kwai Wah’s daughter waiting at the curbside. The daughter, a slender, long hair beauty with a mystic smile in her early 40s drove us through the old part of town in a busy street with trees lined on both sides. We passed the famous West Lake on our left side which was intertwining with the city buildings. It was very scenic and serene amidst the hustle and bustle of city life. Traffic was quite heavy and the road was full of cars and motorized scooters in every shapes and forms both old and new. Pedestrians were everywhere. We arrived at an old neighborhood next to Huizhou No. 11 Elementary School. Kwai Wah’s late husband was a school teacher there and they were staying at the nearby teacher’s apartment. She now owned the place and living with her son (a full-time gambler), the daughter-in-law (a beautician) and her grandson (a precocious, fast action 5 years old).

Amy and I had a quick bowl of beef noodle in the nearby noodle shop as we were getting a little hungry. We then visited Kwai Wah’s apartment and more of Amy’s old friends arrived. They all chatted up a storm about past and present events in their life and kept telling me how closed they were and how much suffering they had endured back in the bad old days. Because they were all branded in the same class (government officials, landowners or business owners) by the communist during the Liberation of China back in 1948, their social status were reduced next to nothing in the village. They had only each other to depend on and survive any onslaught of persecution by others. All these people had moved out of Lianghua some 20 years ago and adapted to the city life here in Huizhou and had been doing quite well. They are now the middle class people in China and owner small businesses, houses for rental and automobiles.

One person in particular that stood out among the crowd was Yee Kwan (陳義君), Yeun Mae’s husband. He had this constant smile on his face (even when he was not smiling) and was always quite animated when he talked. He was a chained smoker, a joker and a repeater of words. He kept saying because of his lack of education (communist took him out of school after 5^th grade), he had limited vocabulary. He must have told me 500 times in the exact same words to come back and visit again and all I needed was to buy and a plane ticket and bring some clothes. He’ll house and feed me as we shared the same last name and our ancestors were Xingning men. Amy and I ended up staying at their house for the next three days.

That evening, Kwai Wah’s lovely daughter hosted a dinner party in our honor at a local restaurant . There were more relatives from these two families showed up. The in-laws, kids and relatives all together made up two tables. The temperature of the private room was beginning to heat up as more guests arrived. Of course, they ordered many dishes to show their hospitality and new wealth. Hot soup was the first course and I started to sweat after a few spoonfuls.

One thing I forgot to mention was all the homes and restaurants (except the ones in Qingyuan) had a strange idea for dinner napkins. Instead of paper or cloth napkins, they used toiler papers. Every dinner table in each household or restaurant had this round plastic dispenser (that looked like an upside down angel food cake with a hole in the middle) to house a roll of toilet paper without the inside cardboard core. The toiler paper will then pull from the inside of the roll (rather than from the outside) and led through the hole and paper was dispensed for messy diners and sweaty customers.

With the rising temperature and humidity while I was in China, I have to confess I had spent considerable amount of my time pulling at those plastic containers to gain access to a few squares of the soft tissue to wipe off my sweats. The only problem of using toilet paper to wipe off heavy sweat which was designed to dissolve easily was….. it dissolved easily…..at the wrong time. I had, on occasions, left bits of toiler paper on my forehead and ears and neck area after a quick wipe down during a meal. Occasions like during the village banquet in front of the VIP village officials, at the wedding and farewell dinners. Amy many times had gingerly come over and tactfully removed those unwanted bits of paper off my face. It was quite embarrassing.

Anyway, the dinner was great but noisy. I met Yee Kwan’s youngest sister who was quite talkative with a high pitch voice and she happened to sit next to me during dinner. Her non-stop questioning about my life in American was quite draining and if only Amy had not removed those bits of toilet paper off my face earlier, I would have used it to plug my ears.

Day 7 - Day to Catch-up 5/13/2011 Friday

The next day, after our usual big breakfast, we sent Ming to meet On Punk at the bus terminal but On Punk already showed up at the hotel with 30 lbs of honey in a plastic jug. It was a gift for Amy and I to take back to American. I thanked him deeply but have to decline the wonderful gesture and told him the U.S. Department of Agricultural will not let it in. Besides, I have the sweetest honey waiting for me back home. (This one is for the consumption of Irene). Chi Keung took a bus back to Hong Kong to take care of some personal stuff that same afternoon. I took the opportunity to get know On Punk and Amy to catch-up with all the gossips back in Lianghua for the last 22 years. (On Punk, of course, had to talk fast). On Punk was such a kind and sincere person. Knowing he grew up in such backward village, I thought those stately dinner we had at Qingning would impressed him. I could not be more wrong as he told me later he rather had simple food back home. I also found out he was a ping pong player and had his own government sponsor team back in Lianghua.

I had also spent some quality time with my cousin Tao Sun, whom was trained as a doctor during the Cultural Revolution. He had shared many heart warming stories about the hardship he had to endure during that time and how little pay he received as a doctor, a far cry compared to his western counterparts. I also showed him scanned old photos he and his dad sent to my dad back in the 70’s and 80’s. He was overcome with joy and emotional when I gave the slideshow on my laptop. I only wished my Xingning style Hakka dialect was better. For my ears and brain was working overtime trying to understand him.

Day 6 - Being Fed at Qingyuan (清遠) 5/12/2011 Thursday

Arriving in Qingyuan was like stepping into paradise. Qingyuan (simplified Chinese: 清远; traditional Chinese: 清遠; pinyin: Qīngyuǎn) is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China. Its total population is 4.03 million, and the primary language spoken is Cantonese. With an area of 19,015 km², Qingyuan is the city of the largest land area in Guangdong. It is located on the Bei Jiang river, is surrounded by mountainous areas, and features an expressway to Guangzhou. (Wilkipedia)

It is one of the second fasting growing cities in Guangdong Province. The 5 stars hotel called Lilac Garden Hotel was second best in town after Sofitel Hotel. It was scenic, quiet, cleaned and spacious. The best part was it had modern plumbing with western style towel.

For the next three days, Tao Sun, his wife Oiy Sun (愛新), his son Fat Wing (佛榮) and daughter-in-law Ying (穎) played host to us. Wing and Ying were the example of the new wealthy class in the fast emerging Chinese economy. They both held high government posts and let’s just say they have ample opportunities to make a good living. Ming, the chauffeur came and fetched us at the hotel at pre-arranged time for breakfasts, lunches and dinners. In between meals, sightseeing was planned. Ying, who was 5 months pregnant, chose the best restaurants with a different style of cuisine for every meal. Every place we ate, they had reserved a private room with a view plus a giant TV, sitting area and private rest room with two servers. Well, let me make it clear, the servers were for serving food not bathroom. All courses were specialties at that particular restaurant. For example, one of the restaurants was made famous for the chicken served at the State dinner during Richard Nixon’s first China visit. That particular breed of chicken was called “3- yellow chicken” and has three parts that bear yellow color, the beak, feet and bone. I cannot help but think that it must be a very timid creature to earn that kind of name. Any way, the flesh was tendered and flavorful. Surely was the best bird I had ever tasted.

We had tasted the best of the local fish, prawns, lobsters, vegetable, melons, tofu, egg dishes, pork, beef, chickens and various style of soup which was a specialty of the Guangzhou cuisine. Each meal was at least 12 to 15 courses and although all were very good. The displayed of hospitality was a little excess. There was an old saying in Chinese, “To eat is in Guangzhou. (Now you know where my ChinGlish come from). After several of these elaborate meals, I began to buy into that notion. Oiy Sun, the wife had said to me privately that Tao Sun was so excited about our visit that he couldn’t sleep for days. Tao Sun also enjoyed his liquor and he found a good excuse and partner in me that we drank a whole bottle of Martel Cordon Bleu in two sittings.

With the face of On Punk still on my mind, I called and persuaded him to come to Qingyuan for an overnight visit so I can properly thank him. He immediately agreed even there were only him and his wife to run the little grocery store. He was to take a bus from Lianghua and meet us at the hotel the following morning.

Day 5 - Half a Day in Lianghua (梁化) Part 4

I will now tell the most interesting experience on this trip……

After the store was safely locked up, Amy was emotionally spent and wanted to get out of Lianghua right away. For months she was uncertain whether we would able to get the key to the building from Dong Bark. There are for many reasons which are beyond the scope of this journal. But I told her I still needed to find the location of the demolished farm house outside of town and she had to find it for me.

With great reluctance but strong encouragement from On Punk, Amy agreed and assured me she can find it. We all got into the KIA and On Punk once again guided Ming to head out of town. We crossed a wooden bridge at the north gate at the edge of town and Amy reminded me her kids used to swim at the stream. I looked down at the water but it was so polluted (a clear evidence of population growth in town).

Ming kept driving on the only paved road heading north on this flat plateau filled with rice field, vegetable, peanuts and pepper plantation. He had to slow down and dodged an occasional car and school kids. It was 2:30 in the afternoon and school was just finished for the day. Water buffalos were everywhere as they are still being used for plowing. I was told it only takes 20 minutes on foot to walk from the Farm House to town. So I figure the distant is about a little over a mile. After a few minutes, Amy and On Punk had a fast exchanged of conversation in Hakka dialect. Then they told Ming to stop the car and confessed we were lost. Well, so much for the assurance from Amy that she can find the house she was born. The farm house was demolished during the “Great Leap Forward” era back in 1958, and people looted and took down the building and use the material for other use.

On Punk got out the car and ran up to this young farm girl by the road side and asked if she heard of an old demolished farm house around there. I could almost tell him the effort was useless. She simply was too young to remember. And sure enough, I can see from the car the farm girl kept shaking her head. So we all got out and I began to take pictures of the area to get, at the very least, a sense of farming life of my ancestors.

On Punk didn’t want to give up the quest and he looked around and saw this man with a straw hat on a motor scooter coming at us in the opposite direction. He flagged the man down and started talking to him. Soon after, Amy joined in. Before you know it, from a distant, I saw the straw hat man pointing to the direction where he just came from. I walked closer to investigate what was going on. The conversation soon took on a new life and Amy and this man soon chattering away about things that had nothing to do in finding the farm house. After awhile, Amy finally introduced me to the straw hat man as Mr. Woo. Mr. Woo and Amy knew each other from way back when she was selling used clothes in 1983 and Mr. Woo was a watch repair man and their two businesses were very close to each other. Mr. Woo recognized Amy right away and said he remembered the farm house but the road we were on would not lead us there. We have to go back to town and take any road heading west. Amy asked if he would be kind enough to take us there and Mr. Woo said he could and he would. What a wonderful, willing man!

We all got very excited and quickly piled back in the car and told Ming to followed Mr. Woo who already took off heading to town. We were all laughing and got a big kick when we saw Mr. Woo raising he legs up every time before he ran over a puddle of water to avoid getting splashed. After a few twists and turns, Mr. Woo stopped at a dirt road amidst some pepper field with farm houses scattered around in a far distant. He led us along this small trail and got us deeper into this rural Chinese farm which had hardly changed into hundreds of years. There were no modern farming machineries to be found. No tractors, combines, silos, irrigation pumps, insecticides broadcasters nor modern plows. All I can see were a few water buffaloes lazily lounging around taken shades under some trees in the hot sun.

Amy, Mr. Woo, On Punk and Chi Keung kept charging ahead at a fast pace. Tao Sun, in his shinny leather black shoes, and I, with my brown Clarks casual, were gingerly trying to keep up as both of us were not wearing the proper footwear to negotiate the dirt path. From a far distant, we can see the scouting party stop at some temple like structures and Mr. Woo was talking to this old farmer smoking a water tobacco pipe. Tao Sun and I finally caught up with them but they all started walking ahead again with the old farmer and two small children in barefoot taking the lead. Exhausted Amy cracked a small smile on her face as she followed. Every one tried to keep cool under this hot sun & high humidity. Not a word was said.

The old farmer took us off the foot path and with great balance started to walk on top of this narrow burrow that was part of the irrigation ditch. It was only about a foot and a half wide with green pepper plants on both sides. The two barefoot little kids followed just as they were walking on a wide paved road. Mud was in our shoes as we followed. We came in front of this bamboo grove and Amy came alive and screamed, “Here it is. I used to call out to Chi Keung from here when we were kids!” With great doubts, I said to myself how on earth would she remember. The heat and humidity must be getting to her and she started to hallucinate. Before I can voice my doubt, she said there should be a small brook behind the bamboo grove and a short wooden plank will lie across it. I picked up my pace and went behind the bamboo grove just in time to see the old farmer and his two small children walking across this 5 foot long narrow gangway made up by three wooden logs. There was a short levee on the other side. Amy walked to the top of the levee and proclaimed in an emotional but great confidence tone, “This is the Farm House”. I made extra effort to get to the top and scanned around the new vista. I immediately spotted the ruin walls (only about 2 feet in height left) that outline the perimeter of a farm house some fifty feet wide by 30 feet deep with a distinct opening in the middle that marked the front entrance facing southwest (good feng shui).

Whatever doubts I had about my sister’s memories were evaporated in this hot sun and I would had cried with big tears if I was not sweating so heavily and all my tears had gone into sweats this whole day since we arrived in Lianghua some 5 hours ago. We had indeed found the Farm House my grandfather built. It was an extreme surreal, fulfilling and tranquil experience. Everywhere I looked around were lush green vegetation of rice, pepper, peanut and others plants. The land was very fertile and water was plentiful with brooks and streams around. Don’t asked me why, but I got a much, much better positive vibes at the small remnant of the farm house than with a fully standing 3 story business building back in town.

There was further confirmation as we looked around. A lychee tree that was planted in the back of the house was still standing. Countless people in my family had told me about the tree. The foundation of the house had been dug up and green pepper plants were growing in the middle of the house where couple generations of Chan lived for over 80 years. I also found a couple pieces of broken pottery resemble of a plate or dish and took pictures of it. I should have taken it with me as a keepsake. I hurried up taking pictures and videos so we can all head back to the car to cool off. On our walked back, Amy and I turned and smiled at each other and I put my arm around her and just said,” Good job!” She was so relieved that we had accomplished all the major things we set out to do in Lianghua and all her worries were gone. Even though seeing the Lianghua Elementary School (where every one in my family attended and my dad was a teacher) was still on the list. I agreed to heading down to Guangzhou (Canton) which was 3 hours away and let Tao Sun and his family play host to us.

We thank the old farmer and Mr. Woo for their assistance under the hot sun. On Punk then guided us to an intersection which will lead to the toll highway and said he can hitch a ride back in town and bid us farewell. We were all so tired and exhausted and jubilant that I only caught a small glimpse of On Punk as he exited the car and turned back and gave Amy a hug. I saw tears with great emotional on his face briefly. That picture replayed over and over in my head the whole time while we were driving to Guangzhou. I felt so bad about not spending more time to get to know this fine helpful human being. All the things we got done in the last 5 hours would not have been possible without him. I began to contemplate of seeing him again soon to properly thank him.

The drive was fast and cool with occasional torrential downpour. We counted our blessing that it didn’t happen while we were looking for the farm house.

Three hours later we were passing the outskirt of Guangzhou, the biggest city in Guangdong province. Tao Sun and his Government VIP son actually lived in Qingyuan (a fast growing suburb an hour away from Guangzhou). Ming got us into our destination around 6 PM and pulled up to this 5 stars Hotel right next to the North River. I didn’t know how important my VIP nephew was until I saw the guard at the entrance at the hotel saluted the car. We had two rooms reserved for us (all expanses paid) with all the modern amenities and of course air-conditioning.

Tao Sun left us at the hotel to shower and said reservation had already made at the hotel restaurant by his daughter-in-law for a welcoming dinner.

We were still reeling in our head from all the sights and sounds and people and events in the last 5 days beginning at Xingning. We had gone from an ultra modern city of Hong Kong to rural farming villages in Xingning to even more backward township of Lianghua and back to modern civilization of Qingyuan.

Day 5 - Half a Day in Lianghua (梁化) Part 3

We left the restaurant feeling energized and headed back to the abandoned building and waited for Dong Bark to show up with the key. We waited for a while and On Punk started to head back to the bookstore and see if Dong Bark had showed up. Amy was getting anxious as she had doubts if the relative at the bookstore had contacted Dong Bark. Ten minutes passed as Amy’s cursing and suspicion got more intense, On Punk showed up with this medium built and quite handsome man. He was Dong Bark, the key keeper. I thanked him for showing up as the sky opened up with a downpour. Dong Bark had to tell the street vendor to move his cart full of clothing away from the front door so he could unlock the door. I tried to take a glimpse at the inside of the store that my grandfather had made a fortune selling fabric but Amy stopped me in my tracks. She instructed Chi Keung to light a couple strings of firecrackers and toss them inside the dark entrance to scare the evil spirits. I was grateful with her thoughtfulness not for the purpose of scaring away the evil spirits but more for the local rats.

With Dong Bark leading the way and me following closely behind, I busily snapping pictures with my Nikon. The entire building had no electricity and quite dark. It was hot and damp and water leaks every where. Amy, Chi Keung, On Punk and Tao Sun decided to stay outside while I made my tour. It was a strange feeling as I made my way room by room, level by level in this old building. I tried to recall stories told by my family what it was like growing up there. My brother Alex once told me he used to hide tobacco behind the staircase leading to the second floor from my parent when he started smoking at 12. So as I climbed the stairs I tried to see if any of his old stash was still there. My mother used to occupy the 2^nd floor and Chi Keung was born in the middle room at the same level. I tried to match all the stories told throughout my childhood with the surrounding in front of me.

The inside was very dusty and had a musky smell. I asked Dong Bark when was the last time this building was occupied . He told me he lived there 10 years ago and the main floor was used as a hair salon. At the top floor, there was a broken skylight which was responsible for most of the water leaks and standing water at each floor. The entire building had many small rooms and hiding place for grain and storage. I was told it was the grandest and tallest building in town back when my grandfather built it.

After about 15 minutes with many quick snapped of photos and videos, I exited the building and relief that the tour was over. But quietly, I felt I was being short-changed with the experience and something was still missing. I can’t tell what it was…..

I thank Dong Bark again and he hastily put the padlock at the front door and disappeared. I sensed the uneasiness with him as he had something or guilt to hide. But there was another story with my family….

Day 5 - Half a Day in Lianghua (梁化) Part 2

Ming drove us back to the main street and Chi Keung stopped the car again after we passed four more stores down from On Punk’s. Amy let out a big cry and said, “Here’s the store your grandfather built!” I immediately got out the air-conditioned car into the furnace-like street and started to sweat again. The twin 3 story building stood right in the middle of the main street where hundreds of shops were located. My Dad and my second oldest uncle (Chi Keung’s grandfather) inherited this building. My dad got the left half and my uncle had the right. But the government had confiscated the building since 1950 and used it for some 35 years before letting us reclaim our ownership. Since we reclaimed this building in 1985, our side of the building had been taken over by some dubious people from my brother’s wife’s side as we have nobody from our family left in China.

These people had been taking advantage of us and had used the building for some not-so-legitimate businesses. Things like massage parlor and Mahh Jongg gambling joint and god knows what else. It had been abandoned for the last 10 years and the front door had been padlocked with the key held by one of the nephews, Dong Bark (許東八), of the now deceased sister-in-law. I had asked my brother Jilin in Sacramento to contact Dong Bark to bring the key so I can set foot in this building and get a glimpse of this place full of my family history.

The side walk in front of our store was now rented out to a street vendor to sell clothes. The proceeds have been pocketed by another nephew who had had a big fight with Dong Bark over the exploitation of this building. The right side of the building had passed to Chi Keung as the rightful heir and he rented the entire building to an electrical appliance store and the business (due to a busy location) is doing really well. The intrigue and interlocking relationships with these people in this little town that involve my grandfather’s legacy are quite complicated and I am just beginning to understand.

Our next task was to contact Dong Bark to get him to produce the key to open the padlock of the abandoned store. On Punk once again sprung into action and found a relative of Dong Bark who happened to own a bookstore close to his. We found this relative and stated our purpose and she immediately got on the phone to call Dong Bark who lives in the next village. The lady-relative at the bookstore told us that Dong Bark will be here to meet us within an hour.

The heat was so unbearable and we didn’t want to hang around to wait for the key bearer so to save time we decided to go to my grandfather’s grave site and pay our respects. All of us piled into the KIA with On Punk giving directions and Ming’s expert driving, we began to snake around narrow streets and congested intersections to the outskirts of town. We stopped in front of some old 6 story concrete residential buildings and we all got out. We were going to meet up with another off spring, relative to my grandfather before going to the grave site. This man nicknamed Auck Koo (惡古) had been receiving money from us and Amy for the last 20 years to supposedly help maintain and pay homage to our grandfather every year. His house is just around the corner from the grave site.

Just a side note, the Chinese believe it is important for the offspring to clean and maintain ancestral grave sites to keep up the good feng shui (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feng_shui) so the subsequent generations can live a healthy and prosperous life. Such notions have ingrained heavily in many Chinese psyches especially that of the older generation. My sister Amy is one of them and a strong believer in that tradition/superstition and has been secretly funding Auck Koo since my Dad passed away 17 years ago.

We found Auck Koo and his two sons at his house which he also used as a store front for selling vegetable wholesale. The three men, with dark sun-burned skin, looked like characters out of a Chinese Kung Fu movie as highway robbers, greeted us and we all headed toward the grave site around the corner.

As we came around a narrow alleyway, there stood several tall buildings on the right and a single-level old style Chinese brick home on the left. In between there was a small pie shaped clearing 150 ft long by 30 ft wide at the top end and 10 ft at the bottom. There were two concrete mounds and tombstones sitting side-by-side facing southeast. The one on the right was my grandfather’s grave. There was a concrete water drainage ditch running along the length of the site to provide proper drainage during the wet season. A strong foul smell emitted from it. At the end of this elongated lot, we could see that someone had taken over a 20 ft x 10 ft plot and planted vegetables and piles of garbage had been accumulated next to the veggie garden. Amy was really upset and started to complain to Auck Koo and his two sons about how they would let people encroach and litter the plot. They all kept silent.

Chi Keung and Auck Koo’s two sons lit candles and incense and Amy laid down some fruit and candies with Tao Sun burning paper money. I walked around and took many photos and videos and tried to get a sense of what the surroundings were like before it was overrun by concrete buildings. After the customary talking and bowing in front of the grave, Auck Koo’s oldest son lit the long string of firecrackers to scare the evil spirits and we said goodbye to my grandfather. It was a short re-union with my ancestor whom I had never met and I felt disgraced by the condition of the plot. We left the area and Amy arranged to have other relatives to join us for a lunch at a nearby restaurant.

At the restaurant, we got a private room with air-conditioning just to cool off. Apparently, all the flies in Lianghua had the same idea and decided to join us. On Punk volunteered to shoo the flies by opening the window and systematically guided them out with great success. We had set the table for 9 but were told there will be 3 more to join us. So we got 3 more chairs. As the flies in the room were thinning out by On Punk, more people got wind of the free lunch provided by the American relatives, an older woman plus two younger women with three kids showed up. They were Auck Koo’s wife, daughters-in-law and grandkids. We had to squeeze in the newcomers and ordered more food. The atmosphere was not a pleasant one as people just ate and packed the leftovers and left. The daughters-in-law didn’t even say goodbye and just took off. Nobody really tried to make an effort to get to know each other except Auck Koo’s younger son. He tried to make small talk but one could tell he was not sincere. My sister Amy passed out red envelopes with money to a couple of older men who she felt sorry for. We left Auck Koo and his two bandit-looking kids at the restaurant after lunch. They kept asking us to stay for a few more days.

Day 5 - Half a Day in Lianghua (梁化) Part 1. 5/11/2011 Wed

This was the most eventful & exciting day by far on this trip. We got up early to finish some last minute packing and a quick breakfast of congee, pickled veggie and some sort of pan fried dumplings followed by more tea. I got so attached to that earthen tea pot the last few days and felt a little sad while my cousin poured me once last trickle of the brown liquid.

My cousin Tao Sun (the retired doctor) showed up at 7:30 AM with his driver Ming to pick us up for a trip to Lianghua. Tao Sun and his driver had been staying in town at an air-conditioned hotel. Even though we were suffering from constant sweating and high humidity at the village house, I would not trade the experience with any modern comfort (except for the sit-down toilet).

Other relatives and neighbors had been showing up since 6:30 to bid us farewell. At departure time, Tao Tim, the older brother, plus his entire family were walking us to the car. Gill Gill was there to carry our luggage. Many people came out looking at the mini parade from Tao Tim’s house to the village center where Ming parked his car, a 4 door KIA sedan. We said a short but emotional good bye and one last group picture for the memory (but no firecrackers). Tao Tim made me promise to come back again with my family from the U.S. before he let me get into the KIA. Ming maneuvered expertly through a score of motorized scooters, bicycles, school kids on the village back road with the air conditioning at full blast. We got on the Highway in 5 minutes and headed for Lianghua some 260 km away.

Lianghua (梁化), a small township lies in some of the most fertile soil in the Guangdong Province, is a seat of a fourth-order administrative division in Guangdong Sheng, China. Lianghua's location is 23° 6' 45.84" north latitude, 114° 40' 18.94" east longitude. Lianghua has an average elevation of about 23 meters above sea level.

It is the place where my family began almost 80 years ago. My grandfather born in Xingning but like many of his peers, left and looked for work somewhere else. He went to Lianghua, married my grandmother and amassed a small fortune. He bought hundreds of acres of farmland, built a farm house (demolished), and a three-story twin building to start a business (still standing) at the town’s main street , then died and was buried there. My dad and all my 5 brothers (except one) and 3 sisters were born there. I was told countless stories by my family how they grew up in this little village tucked away in the southeast corner of the province.

One of the many goals for this trip was to visit my grandfather’s grave, get inside the twin building (been locked up for 10 years by some not-so-honest relatives), locate the site of the demolished farmhouse, and if I still have time find the elementary school which all my family had attended and my dad was once a teacher. My sister Amy also let one of her friends in Sacramento talk her into acting as a courier to bring money to a relative who lived nearby Lianghua. We knew we had a full day ahead of us as Tao Sun also invited us to go back to Guangzhou (Canton) at the end of the day which is another 3 hours away.

The trip was fast and uneventful other than a phone call from Amy’s friend’s relatives who was already waiting impatiently at Lianghua in front of Chun Shan Restaurant for his small fortune (supposedly) stashed away in Amy’s money pouch. But when Amy was looking for the stack of paper bills after the phone call, it was not there. She tried to whisper in my ear of the mishaps so not to alert anyone in the car. I tried to ask her in detail what she had done with the money before we left Tao Tim’s house. She told me she wrapped the money separately in a paper towel away from her own money before she put it into her money pouch that she wore around her waist. I said, “Did you use the same paper towels given to us by those lovely flight attendants from Cathay Pacific during my fateful plane ride from SFO.” She said yes. So I turned around and reached for the tote bag where we kept water and knick knacks and PAPER TOWEL. Amy looked inside the bag and her face instantly turned red with embarrassment when she found the stash of money. I told her I will hold the money for her until we get to Lianghua and I put it into my fanny pack.

We got off the main highway two hours later and headed into town relying on the GPS that Ming had programmed. Amy and Chi Keung were confused and kept second guessing the directions suggested by the GPS. Things got worse when the road that supposed to lead into town became a dirt road and the ride became very bumpy. The traffic was getting less with an occasional motor scooter coming at us at the opposite direction. The riders all had helmets and face masks to keep away from the dirt. Amy was getting very nervous but tried to keep her calm as not to distract Ming’s driving. The little KIA nudged ever so slowly forward and Ming negotiated expertly around all the huge pot holes. Despite the uncomfortable ride, the GPS kept counting down the distance to town. We all let out a big sigh of relief when we hit the paved road again and the town was in sight. We later found out the GPS led us to the shortest route but if we had stayed on the highway for another exit, we would have spared all the excitement.

Amy came back alive and tried to give directions to Ming as where we needed to go even though it had been 22 years since her last visit. Chi Keung kept contradicting her command as he comes and visits at least twice a year and had kept up with all the changes in the town center which consisted of only 4 blocks square. I finally took sides with Chi Keung and told her to be quiet. Chi Keung led us to a store front and asked Ming to stop the car. Both Amy and Chi Keung opened the car door and the hot and humid outside air immediately rushed onto our face. They jumped out of the car and this middle age chubby store owner came out and happily greeted both of them. His name was On Punk (陳岸鵬) one of Amy’s good (deceased) friend’s son. Amy asked where Chun Shan Restaurant was and On Punk said there was no such place in town. We called Amy’s friend’s relatives on his cell phone and before I could catch my breath, I saw Amy took off hastily with On Punk and Chi Keung down the main street.

I realized they probably were going to look for the soon-to-be rich man in a new location and I immediately took chase so they wouldn’t be out of my sight as I was still holding the cash. I signaled my cousin Tao Sun to have Ming turn the car around in this very narrow main street full of street vendors, shoppers, bicycles and scooters. It was like in a Turkish bazaar except the people were different. Ming was very cool and calm and managed to drive ahead among this mass of humanity and turned the corner and disappeared with Amy. I finally caught up to where they disappeared at the corner and saw the little KIA stopped at the end of the block. I ran and chased just to keep up and luckily the KIA was not moving. I caught my breath when I got to the end of the block and looked for Amy but she was no where to be found. I knocked on the window of the KIA and asked if Ming knew where Amy was. And cool Ming just smiled and pointed toward a big van and I saw Amy and Chi Keung and On Punk with this thin middle aged man talking. Amy was busily searching her money pouch for the cash and I can see huge drops of sweat pouring down her face and panic started again when she cannot produce the stash. Before my sister started to hyperventilate, I swiftly un-wrapped the paper towel and handed over the cash to the man and the paper towel for Amy to wipe her face. The face of my 70 years old sister was all red and she tried to let out a smile. I told her to stand next to the cash ladened man and took a picture for the record to her friend back home. I truly hope we delivered the loot to the right person. I then rushed Amy back to the KIA and insisted she drink a whole bottle of water and not to talk. Tao Sun, the doctor was also keeping a watchful eye on her for any sight of heat stroke. We spent almost 40 minutes in Lianghua and I had not even started my family search and we were already exhausted.