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.

Day 4 - Chinese Wedding 5/10/2011 Tuesday

Tao Tim and Tao Sun also has a younger sister called Wai Lan (陳慧蘭). It happened that her younger son was getting married on Tuesday while we were visiting. It was just great that I can meet another close relative and witness a Chinese wedding first hand. Early Tuesday morning after a quick breakfast with congee and deep fried dumplings, Tao Sun and his driver picked us up at 7:15 AM and took us over to greet the arrival of the bride at Wai Lan’s house. I was wondering why they started “The receiving of the Bride” so early in the morning but was told it was a good time according to the Chinese Almanac - “the Good Book”.

The drive was about 15 minutes back to town and upon arrival we saw four cars all decorated with paper flowers and streamers were already parked at the end of the block from Wai Lan’s house. The wedding party was there but the bride and groom and a good-looking young boy were still sitting in the car. What were they waiting for, I wondered? Later, I was told they had to wait for the precise time according to the Good Book to get out and walk into the house to start their new life. The good-looking young boy was to accompany the bride to her new home, he then will sit on the new bed so he can bring good karma so the couple can conceive a (good-looking) male child.

At 7:40 AM the wedding party got out of the car and started to walk toward the house. A long string of firecrackers (strung almost a block long along the path) was lit and smoke and thunderous noise filled the street. The bride and groom and the boy walked quickly to avoid the explosion of the firecrackers. At the entrance of the house, the bride had to step over a bundle of burning straw (so the evil spirit would not hide under her skirt) before her entering.

They got to their newly decorated room, and sure enough, had the boy sat on the new bed. This practice also brought back old memories as I was once used to do the same as a young boy at my cousin Nin’s wedding night. I sat on their bed some 45 years ago and my cousin since had 4 boys (Albert, Benny, Chris and David). I could have made a fortune at weddings if I only knew of my potential when I was young.

Rice wine was served and they toasted each other. They were also served soup with two hard boiled eggs and two meat balls (great fertility symbols). We were also served the rice wine and soup and eggs. Not really wanted any help in fertility, but I was glad for the tasty treat.

We left Wai Lan’s house around 9:00 AM and Tao Sun suggested to visit the local temple which was on top of the hill overlooking Xingning, not far from Tao Tim’s house. It was very scenic and we got a great view of the city.

Noon time at the restaurant, was more eating (18 courses) and the newlywed actually had their ceremony in front of all the guests. They presented tea to their respective parents and relatives and went around all the tables to toast everyone. All the young men got around to play little games with the bride and groom. A tradition that was quite common in the Chinese culture. The groom with toasting from all his friends was overindulged with the cognac and got pretty drunk at the end of the banquet.

After the banquet, Tao sun also took me to the Hakka Museum in Meizhou (Chinese: 梅州; pinyin: Méizhōu) is a prefecture-level city of eastern Guangdong Province in the south of the People's Republic of China. It has an area of 15,836 km², and a population of 5.05 million. Meizhou is honored with the Hometown of Culture, Hometown of the Overseas Hakka Chinese and Hometown of Football. (Wikipedia) The visit had gained me a great insight of my people....the Hakka (Guest Family). Will tell you more later.

Day 3 - Family Banquet 5/9/2011 Monday

The day of our catered party at noon, the caterers arrived at around 9:30 AM with all the pressurized propane stoves (for high temp cooking), woks, tables and chairs, food, serving plates and eating wares. Chinese wine and liquor were already bought yesterday. The food will be cooked and serve on premise. We had invited 60 people for a 22 courses banquet. I found out later that Xingning’s custom was to have banquet at noon instead of in the evening. I supposed it made sense to have such heavy meal during the day so one can have the rest of the day to digest the food. My cousin also invited the village chief and the general secretary of Xingning. He didn’t expect them to show up but at 11 AM, the General Secretary showed up on his motor scooter with a 20 foot long fire crackers. I still didn’t understand what it was with the Chinese about fireworks. My cousin felt so honor and instantly gained tremendous face among the whole village.

People started to arrive in small groups and tea were served in those ever presence little plastic ketchup cups. The little earthen tea pot was working overtime. Before we know it, people started to drink wine and smoke cigarettes. I greeted everyone with my now newly developed Cantonese/Hakka/Mandarine/English dialect and everyone seemed to understand exactly what I said. Without second guessing myself, I had never felt so proud of my language skill.

Tao Tim's younger brother Tao Sun (陳道新), a retired doctor, arrived around 11:30 with his son's chauffeur from Guangzhou (廣州), (a 4 hours ride), and joining us for the feast. Tao Sun's son was some sort of big shot Chinese official and was well off enough to have his owe driver. Tao Tim and Tao Sun were my closest kin in China. Their father and mine shared the same father but a different mother.

Food started to flow out from the outdoor kitchen temporarily set up at the back of the house which was staffed by a chef and two women assistants/waitresses. The 22 courses arrived continuously at a regular pace and people seemed to able to keep up with the eating as there were always room at the table for the next dish.

After the 4th course, Tao Tim advised me to go around to all the tables to give each one a proper toast. We started with the one with the VIP's from the city and village. At that precise moment that long string of fire crackers were lit and it was so loud that nobody really can hear what I was trying to say in my mixed dialect. It was just as well that they were spared the agony.

There were so much toasting and counter toasting as everyone was trying not to be out done by the next person and no one was eating and the onslaught of food started to pile up on the table. People were looking for more wine and the two kitchen helpers turned waitresses were flustered with the mob scene.

At two o'clock, the last course were served and everyone seemed to be pretty sloshed. The big shot VIP suddenly stood up to leave and all his entourage followed. Things started to wound down from the drinking and the two overworked waitresses started to clear the tables with great efficiency. Many of the men gather around and the little tea pot was once again sprung into action and rounds of tea was served. The all hung around until 4 PM and at 6 PM sharp dinner was served with many of the leftover dishes from the same afternoon.

After dinner, my cousin presented me a duplicate copy of our ancestral archive which he was one of the editors.They put a new edition every 5 years and it came in 3 volumes. I gave him an update from my side of the family in the U.S. with names of all the nephews and nieces. I also told him that my daughter, Jessica was protesting in why all the daughters names were not recorded in the archive. Even though it was a common practice for generations in many Chinese family archives, Tao Sun also disagreed with the inequality. Tao Tim finally agreed that in the next edition, he will put down all the daughters names in as well. So I crossed off another item on my list for this trip.

Day 2 - Paying Respect to the Ancestors 5/8/2011 Sunday

On May 8th (Sunday), my nephew nicknamed Gill Gill (陳佛彬), the farmer met us at the bus terminal, with his wife brought a dead chicken, a slab of pork, a fish together with a basket full of incense and paper money and a 4 foot long of fire crackers came to the house. My cousin's youngest son, Zi Man (陳子文) also prepared tea and wine with cups and bowls and set them by the door. We all had breakfast at 8 AM and around 9:30AM, according to the Chinese Almanac which was a good time for honoring ancestors, we all walked to the ancestral Surrounded Houses for a small ceremony. This was one of the thing on my agenda for this trip.

Being this was Sunday morning some of the grandkids also came along. Upon arrival the women started lighting incense and candles in front the ceremonial altar. They passed Amy, Chi Keung and I some various sizes of joss stick and we all lined up in front and prayed out loud and bow. The tradition was to talk loud (so they can hear you from heaven afar ) and asked the ancestors for your wishes and blessing. Things like blessing one with a healthy male child, a prosper business, a healthy life.... etc, were the standard. I put down on my own list for a healthy and joyous life for all my kids, love ones, family and friends also on the list was winning the Lotto, out riding Terry on my bike and no leaks on my old roof. I hope it was not too much to ask considered the distance I traveled and being this was my first time.

The women also burnt paper money so the ancestors had plenty to spend. I was sure they experienced inflation in the underworld as well. Before we left, Zi Man lit this 4 ft long fire (cherry bomb-like) crackers. It exploded a few round but stop. He had to run back and re-lit the now very short fuse and ran for his life. The ancestral hall exploded in booming crackling noise and instantly filled with white smoke and red paper debris. I was not that afraid of the white smoke as about a year ago I had similar experience at a different setting. But the noise was deafening. The idea was to scare away the evil spirit and I was quite sure all my ancestors would have been awakening by then, so I quickly recited my wish list again that I had prepared earlier.

We went home and rest from the event and had lunch at noon. The food were consisted of chicken, pork and fish. (Hmm, wondered where they came from). We then took naps as the humidity was getting heavier. At the end of my nap I saw all the boys (grandnephews) hunched over their computer and played games. The computer was sitting on a small low table and their backs must be hurting in that hunch position. They did not have a proper desk. So I asked Tao Tim to take me to a furniture store to buy two computer desks for the kids.

We walked all the way to the end of the village and came to the main street which was full of businesses. Tao Tim found his favorite furniture store and talked to the owner. I saw a handed-made computer desk built onsite by one of his carpenter and told the owner we wanted two. Tao Tim started to hackled with the owner on the price. We settled on the price and I paid the owner and tried to ask for a receipt. Tao Tim and the owner both laughed and said they knew each other for a long time and such thing would not be necessary. I felt such an American among these people and started to learn the local custom. The desks arrived an hour later on a 3 wheels motor scooter and all the kids were quite happy and started to move the two computers from each side of their house. I gave them proper posture instructions on computers and they all eagerly taking their turn at it.

My cousin has 6 grandkids from his three sons. They range from 5 to 17. The oldest 5 kids are all in junior to high school and all taking English. So I took the time to speak English to them (Might be a mistake on my part). I also gave them English names so I can identify them easily and they all seemed to be thrilled. I just pick names from my favorite Kings and Queens and movie stars. I will let you guess what they were, but if you see Elvis and Henry Chan become famous in China, in the future. Don't blame me for it.

At the same night, we were invited to Gill Gill's home for dinner which was located directly behind Tao Tim house. The two houses separated by a huge fish pond. Gill Gill shared the same duplex style house with his younger brother. Both men were married with children and their father (my other cousin) was living with them. The house was 3 story and with better amenities. Kitchen sinks, refrigerator and stereo sound system. There were about 25 people for dinner and the two boys whipped up a 12-course dinner in a flash.There were plenty of home made rice wine and Chinese beer. You can tell the women were happier in that household as both men were working and living at home.

Day 1 - Let the Search Begin 5/7/2011 Saturday

This morning at 7:30 AM we finally started our long awaited bus trip to Xingning (興寧), mainland China. The ancestral village of my grandfather. I was traveling with my sister Amy and we also invited my nephew Chi Keung (living in HK) along for the trip. The bus ride took 6 hours but within that time period we seemed to be traveling back in time for 60 years. We left the most modernized concrete jungle of Hong Kong and gradually moving into rural villages of China. On our way, we seen rice and vegetable fields, water buffalos lazily bathing in the streams, rolling green hills, the famous Pearl river, peoples in motor scooters (sometimes the whole family in one scooter). There seemed to be no traffic rules in small cities we passed though. Everyone just turned and passed at their own free will (pedestrians included) in all directions but some how they all managed to get along and no accidents were witnessed although I swore there should be at least several fatalities if the same situations occurred in the U.S.

Xingning (興寧), a county-level city, under the jurisdiction of Meizhou (梅州) Guangdong province (廣東省) is the second largest city in east Guangdong, with an area of 2105 sq. km.; and a population of 1.13 million. The city governs 29 towns/townships containing 475 villages. (Wikipedia)

We arrived there at 1 PM and my cousin Tao Tim (陳道添), whom I have never met, was already awaited for us at the bus terminal. After the emotional hugs and rapid firing of the Xingning dialect between Amy and my cousin. We managed to stuff all our luggages and 5 people plus the taxi driver into this small cab. Never mind, I had to share the same front seat with another relative whom I still needed to ascertain our long line of relationship. This man, few years younger than I am was a farmer all his life (I can feel his muscle) whom my cousin Tao Tim brought along to help as porter, was almost sitting on my lap when he climbed into the cab. But he assured me it will be only a short ride. The ride was about several kilometers but had to wind through some rice fields and small narrow dirt road. The last few blocks before arriving to my cousin's house was this narrow bridge spanning over this fish pond which even this well-adapted-to-China-traffic driver had to hesitate about the crossing but with my cousin's urging and coaching, we somehow managed to squeezed through and arrived safely with inches to spare at least on my side of the cab. We could had been fish food if the spirit of my ancestors were not looking after us at the precise moment. We got off the sardine-can-like cab and started to breath in the fresh country air and my sore and hoarse throat was instantly better.

After arriving at my cousin's house (as least that I was thought), which was a 3 stories brick and concrete duplex like structure with a front garden enclosed by a flimsy iron gate. I can see all sorts of green vegetable growing in the garden. The duplex building was identical on both side and each had a front door leading to a sitting area. Each door had a set of red posters with Chinese writing on it. These were the remnants from the Chinese New Year some three months ago. My cousin made his own posters to pen in some good wishes for the family. A traditional practice that traced back thousands of years. I tried to take a picture of it but a scores of people were already pouring out from each door to greet us. There were an elderly woman (my cousin's wife), three women in there late thirties to mid forties (my cousin's three daughter-in-laws), a middle age man (my cousin's younger son), three girls and three boys from age 5 to age 17 (my cousin's grandkids). They were all quite shy but were very curious to see their relatives came all the way from America.

After a brief introduction we were led to sit in the front room and tea were pouring out non-stop from this little clay tea pot. Amy, Chi Keung and I already have our own tea mug with our name on it. The rest of the adults were all drinking from the little sipping cups.(There were only 5 of them) Each adult were taking turn to refill the clay teapot from the two hot water thermos sitting next to the coffee (tea) table. I tried to involve in the conversation and absorb the new environment all at the same time studying each person and tried to make heads and tails on how they were all related. I gave up when more people (relatives) arriving in the room from nearby houses and little plastic cups (the kinds we used at In-and-Out burgers to get ketchup) were given to the newcomers for tea. I was more amazed on how that one little teapot can accommodate so many people. But the credit had to go to the person that pour the tea. He or she seemed to know exactly how much tea to pour onto each cup when making the round as we all got about an equal allotment from each time when tea was poured.

After about 15 rounds of tea sipping (which seemed like eternity), lunch was announced to be served at a round table nearby. I failed to see how the table were set. As it seemed to appeared out of nowhere with 4 pipping hot dishes and a big earthen pot in the middle. They were all local dishes of Hakka origin, They were stuffed tofu, braised pork with skin, stir fried green from the garden, meat ball with melon soup, I discovered for the next two hours that earthen pot in the middle were chicken cooked in home made sweet rice wine which my cousin and his son made sure I have plenty to sample.

We finished lunch at around 2:30 PM plus more rounds of tea, my cousin then took me for a short walk to the center of the village where the ancestral 围屋 (surrounded houses) were located. We winded through some narrow paths between some modern and some real old structures intermingled with vegetable plots, small rice paddies and fish ponds. There seems to be ditches on each side of the foot path with open running water streamed down rapidly. I saw a man dressed in long overall with a contraption (seen right out of Ghost Busters - the movie) on his back. He stood next to one of the ditch and started poking two metal rods into the water. I thought he was some sort of scientist testing the water quality but I was soon told he was fishing with an electric prods. I saw him netted a small stunned fish as we walked by. Hope the humane society doesn't get hold of this story.

We arrived at the ancestral home in about 5 minutes. It was a long single level typical looking Chinese building with slanted earthen brick roof and eaves. The center of the building was the ceremonial hall for worshiping and remembrance of ancestors. It was facing south. In front of it was a large fish pond. On either side of the hall (east and west) were two entrances and there were small houses all connected side by side forming a semicircle. I was told it could house up to 200 hundred people in this ancestral home. Now there were only a few families living in it and most of the houses were abandoned and used to raise chickens. It all pretty run down and rather filthy. Need to study more about this ancient building.

We walked back through the narrow path and came to this old two story building and my cousin Tao Tim took out a key and opened the door and let us in. I finally realized it was his house where he and his wife and the youngest son and his family lived. At his house, Tao Tim presented me with a gift, a welcoming poem he wrote in classic Chinese calligraphy to commemorate my visit. It basically says we are both tied by blood despite the great distance apart.

The house Amy and I and Chi Keung staying was the house belong to his two older sons whom were working out-of-town and they only come home on occasion. They worked hard and saved big so they can built this house 5 years ago. The two wives were in charge of raising the kids and maintaining the household. I also found out they just recently completed the 2nd and 3rd story in preparation of our visit. These relatives of mine were poor by our standard and the house was scarcely furnished. But they had rolled-out the red carpet for us. There was no refrigeration and cooking were done by propane and coal bricks. Water were all pipe in by PVC pipes. But the 2nd story had a sit-down toilet (thank god) but no washing basin.

There was a small gas-fired on-demand water heater for bathing. They had no floor mats at the entrance ways and stair case. Humidity was quite high and we were into the rainy season with frequent downpour. For floor mats they put old clothing down to wipe your feet when entering the house or climbing the stairs. I now know what part of the house I was in just by seeing the different garment as I stepped on it. A red long gym pants greeted the front door. A pair of an old blue jean at the lower stair case. A small green t-shirt laid at the landing between the first and ground floor. A black jacket guarded the bathing room....etc.

All three stories of the house each had 3 bed rooms, a toilet and the lower floor also house the kitchen and a shower with a squat style toilet. They actually feel quite well-off and the conversation always eluded back to how hard things were in the no too distance past.

We were served dinner at 6 PM sharp with more rice wine and delicious steaming hot Hakka dishes. The three daughter-in-laws under the command of Tao Tim's wives cooked and served us food in swift efficiency and all three got on really well and communicated in rapid, loud and high pitch Xingning Hakka dialect. It was a pretty hard life especially for the two older daughter-in-laws as I have yet to find out how they cope with their lives in long absence from their husbands.

Starting off the Trip, 5/3/2011. Tuesday.

Arriving in Hong Kong

I had a scary mishap during the flight. I was tired and hungry (being not eating too much at dinner) when getting on the flight. So I ate everything in sight when dinner was served at 3:30 AM ( 2 hours into the flight). I also had a glass of red wine with dinner and finished off with shot of cognac. Soon after I was ready to sleep as I was exhausted. Shortly after they cleaned the tray off the table and I was coming down with dizziness and a big cold sweat. Last thing I remember I was trying to get up and go to the toilet to wash my face but the next thing I knew I was lying on the aisle next to the toilet with Amy kept calling my name and there were at least two more flight attendants wiping my face. I had passed out and bumped my head and lay unconscious for about 5 minutes. They finally sat me up and let me used the toilet. I went back to my seat but still felt dizzy with a cold sweat. I must had passed out again for the next thing I remembered was Amy cleaning-off barf of my chest. I must had threw-up and made a mess on my shirt. The nice, young and cute stewardesses were all over me. I think there were 4 of them (Fanny, Sophie, Candy and Tracy). They all offering me air sickness bags, wet towels, water and a new pajama reserved only for the 1st class passengers. (I got to keep the pajama) I felt so embarrassed as everyone was looking as me (but I kind of like it). Finally, I threw up again all I had in my stomach and felt immediately better.

Next thing I knew, the kind flight attendants cleared out all five passengers from the whole center row and let me laid down and slept. They piled several pillows and 7 blankets to keep me warm as I was feeling chills. I slept for 4 hours with Amy at the end of the row keeping an eye on me. I got up after the siesta and felt like a million dollars. I sat up for the rest of the trip and ate a cup of noodles and breakfast before landing.

I asked the supervisor for a comment form and wrote a really nice letter to show my appreciation. As a gesture of appreciation, I also invited all the flight crews in the Economy Class (most of them were young Chinese girls) to going sailing on the bay next time they have a laid-over in SFO.

Hong Kong (香港; ) is one of two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the other being Macau. Situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbor. With a land mass of 1,104 km² (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hong Kong's population is 95 percent ethnic Chinese and 5 percent from other groups. Hong Kong's Han Chinese majority originate mainly from the cities of Guangzhou and Taishan in the neighboring Guangdong province. (Wikipedia)

I got to HK early Tuesday morning feeling still a little groggy. With the well known HK efficiency, I was able to clear the usual obstacles in 15 minutes and got on my bus heading to our hotel in Kowloon. The minute I boarded the bus, I got a big whiff of nasty perfume coming from two elderly Western ladies sitting in front of me. The ride only took 30 minutes but the smell of that strong perfume would have last at least three more days. I then started a marathon of meetings and lunches and dinners and afternoon teas with friends and relatives for the next few days. Every day I was feeling a little more recovered from the jet lag and my throat slowly adjusting to the smog filled city of Kowloon.

One of my goal was to meet up with my sister-in-law Evelina's family. She had 2 sisters and a brother still living in HK. Her brother Man Siu (吳文瑞) in particular, was also researching and writing his family history. He is a learned man, a graduate from the famous Tsinghua University (清華大學) in China. And I would like to pick his brain on how he approached the subject. He treated us to a nice dinner and shared his writings (in Chinese) with me. I was so impressed with his writing style of great precision and humor. I could only wished my writing would be like that.

We also caught up with my nephew, Chi Keung (陳志強) whom I grew up with some fifty years ago. We have a great time talking and looking forward to our trip together to China. He had lived a hard life.