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. 

Hong Kong Airport Grandad 4th from left

14th Jan 1958 Photo by 'Mei Chen' (left) as memory to  grandad

My grandfather with the woman he wanted to woo

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.:((

Clash of cultures

Manicured pedestrian  walks in Shamian

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.

Peaceful and quiet streets

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.

Tai chi for the older folks

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.

Across the canal, the real China haze and all!

Busy night streets

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.