As planned, did 3 things today outside of Shamian Island.
1) Absorbed some culture by visiting the Chen Family Home.
2) Food along Shangxiajiu-Dishipu Pedestrian Shopping Street. Most were a novelty and forgot to take photos of the meals that I had.
3) At night it was window shopping at Beijing Road Pedestrian Shopping Street and subsequently a nightwalk along the Pearl River.
Note that the air quality in Guangzhou was not spring fresh. You can't see blue skies most of the time. Therefore be prepared with a good face mask if you are the allergic type.
The Chen Family Home ( aka Chen Jia Ci or Chen Clan Academy or Chen's Lineage Hall ),
considered one of the 4 major cultural sites of Guangdong Province. Took the subway on a wet morning and reached the place rather early. Not a visitor in sight. On the outer wall, there was an intricate carving of mystical characters and deities in the Chinese folklore. Could recognized Guan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, God of Prosperity and maybe Guan Yu, the God of War.
The place consist a series of buildings, family halls and courtyards. The facade mostly in unpainted grey which gave the whole area an austere feel but regal nevertheless. Browsed mostly through antique furniture, door carvings, interesting windows and wood panels. An etching of Guan Yu was found on one of the doors leading to the halls.
The inner courtyard have seating places where you can sit, feel and contemplate life in ancient China. Usually it would be surrounded by a hall or buildings. The corridors connecting the building and its back alleys were narrow and long. Good for perspective photography.
Was intrigued by the many bronze statutes that dot the indoor gardens. These life-sized statutes showed intricate facial features, expressions and emotion. It was a reflection of the squalor then, the levels of poverty and the tribulations of life of the Chinese in the 18th century. Glad I was not part of the citizenry of that era.
Lunch was beef noodle ( niu ru mien ), a popular dish in Guangzhou. Choose your noodle and it would be served together with slices of beef and its condiments. Don't forget to dip the beef in chili to give it a kick. Dessert was the double boiled skin milk 'jelly'. Its consistency a tad firmer than yoghurt and tasted simply great. You can also add condiments like sweetened red beans or gingko nuts.
Walking along the Pearl River and then Beijing Lu concluded a long day. There were many tourists going for the night cruise but that did not interest me. I wanted more and walking was the best way to discover this city. Can't help but noticed a lot of good quality restaurants. However some of the things they served were not agreeable to me. That included the exotics and perhaps some illegal like scorpions, worms, snakes, at least a baby crocodile and cats -yuckie!!!
If you were not the shopping type then Beijing Lu may not be your cup of tea. Its has a pedestrian street with hordes of people, local and tourists. Neon lights flashed on every building and all night. To add to the din, the shops employed their staff to stand in front and exhort all and sundry to patronize them. Part of the street was built on top of the remains of an old Ming Dynasty street. You can actually view it as its below the road tables, encased in glass.
Scholar's Reflection :
- The Cantonese enjoy their food, to extremities sometimes.
- Leaving lots of unconsumed food at the restaurant a bad but common practice.
- Over industrialization has damaged the environment especially the air quality.
- Not suitable if you want a tranquil break.
- Good for Cantonese culture vultures, food and all.
Friday, 31 March 2006
Tuesday, 28 March 2006
My Roots - Hoiping, Siyi - Guangzhou
Surname : 張 Chang, Cheung, Jeung, Zhang
Among famous Cantonese were Bruce Lee, Sun Yat Sen and Wong Fei Hung. Although of Cantonese descent, I have no affiliation nor emotional ties to this ancestral land called Guangdong. According to my aunties ( hearsay ), the only thread-link was that of a Guangdong relative that had migrated to the US of America years earlier. In the 1950's ( if I'm not mistaken ), this relative had sent a princely sum of USD$100 to us in Malaya. Being in a small town, there was no facility to exchange this 'large note'. My grandfather had to make a trip to Kuala Lumpur to exchange it to Malaysian ringgit.
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| Hong Kong Airport Grandad 4th from left |
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| 14th Jan 1958 Photo by 'Mei Chen' (left) as memory to grandad |
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| My grandfather with the woman he wanted to woo |
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| Relatives in Hong Kong |
Studio photos taken at
LIFE PHOTO
76 Morrison Hill Road 2nd Flr
Hong Kong
Phone 77-0322
The bits and pieces that were known was that we belong to the SezYup ( Seiyap ) clan of the Cantonese. We came from 'HoiPing' (spoken) district or Kaiping in modern day Guandong. Our grandfather was a widower and wanted to remarry a lady named 'Mei Chen' in Hong Kong. Apparently, he went to Hong Kong to ask for her hand in marriage but the bride refused to return with him to Malaya. I guess the thought of coming to Malaya to live with a man with six children ( my dad, 2 uncles and 3 aunties ) from a previous marriage was not an attractive idea.:((
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| Clash of cultures |
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| Manicured pedestrian walks in Shamian |
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| Guangdong Victory Hotel, Shamian Island. |
Hence went I landed in Guangzhou aka Kwanchow aka Canton on this trip, I know my ancestral land was somewhere south west of this capital city. This time I stayed at Guangdong Victory Hotel located in Shamian Island. A sandbank in the Liwan District, it was given as a concession to French and British colonialists in the 19th century. Naturally, this area was very well kept, clean and free from congestion.
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| Peaceful and quiet streets |
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| Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel |
Adopting Chinese babies seemed to be a big industry here. White families with a Chinese baby in tow could be seen daily at the breakfast tables in my hotel. Spoke to one family of 6 which came back for a second adoption. My guess was that there must be an adoption agency nearby where these families formalized papers and all.
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| Tai chi for the older folks |
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| Morning exercise for army recruits |
The stay in Shamian Island can best be described as surreal. The architecture was baroque and well maintained by any standards. Being gazetted as a historical area helped I supposed. Definitely do not reflect China as we have seen from photos. However, just 50m across the canal was the real China. The noise, chaos and smell of Asia was just a stone throw away.
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| Across the canal, the real China haze and all! |
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| Busy night streets |
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| Hazy skyline daily. |
Although, I could not get away from work to find my roots, the trip was an eye opener. For starters, I now know the cuisine of the place, namely lots of noodles in beef broth, fantastic sweet desserts and dim sums.
Busy busy busy was my ancestral place.
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