Chaozhou

Chaozhou (Teochew) City is 40km from the port city of Shantou. It is located in the north of the Delta of the Hanjiang River, north east of Guangdong Province. It had been the location of Lu Administration, prefecture and capital of dynasties of past ages. It was named Chaozhou originally in the Sui Dynasty (591 AD).

The city is surrounded by the Golden Mountain, the Silver Mountain and Hanshan Mountain. The Hanjiang River flows through the city and eight scenes distributed along its both banks.

With so many historical places to visit, it was impossible to do all this in a day. The one place where many tourists visit was the Hanjiang Wall, dating back from the Ming Dynasty. The ancient city wall is Chaozhou’s greatest pride. In the past, this lofty wall prevented the ancient city from flooding by the Hanjiang River and the same time protecting the city.

Hanjiang City Walls

Inside the city wall. Bottom left are fish floats drying in the sun.

L to R: , Shop selling some local sweet, Me on top of city wall,
looking down at the Xiangzi Bridge, remains of the old city wall

Opposite the wall is the Xiangzi Bridge. It was built by Han Yu and named it after his nephew, Han Xiangzi - one of the Eight Immortals.

L to R: Looking down into the city from top of city wall, taking a nap, outside Hanwen Shrine, Flowers on the side walk

Han Yu governed Chaozhou for 8 months before he left for the Capital. The mountain (Han Shan) and river (Han Jiang) were named after his surname Han. Hanwen Shrine on Hanshan was also built in his honour.

Top: Hanwen Shrine,
Bottom: City wall on the left

L to R: Xiangzi Bridge across the river opposite the city wall, Looking down from Hanwen Shrine

Teochew is primary spoken here. The Teochew are a subgroup of the Han people who lived in the eastern coast of Guangdong and represent one of the 3 major ethnic groups in the province. It was generally believed their ancestors moved to the present Chaoshan to escape the series of civil war from Central China during the Jin Dynasty.

These people traditionally were involved in smuggling, piracy and illegal emigration and sometimes known as the Jews of China. Whenever I get cheeky, I always teased my wife over it.

My in-laws felt so at home in this city and was at ease chattering with the locals in their dialect. It is not uncommon that a Teochew person addresses other Teochew as ga-gee-nung, which means "my people" in the Teochew language.

The city has so much to offer and it is a pity to only see a part of it. It has so much to offer and I hope to come back again especially to savour the food.

The one thing that soured this trip was the beggars. A word of advice – do not give them any money. When we alighted from our bus we were accosted by a blind musician accompanied by a lady. My SIL being kind hearted gave them some money. Instead of being grateful, they continued to hound all of us, following us everywhere, expecting all of us to give them money. Before long more beggars came surrounding us. It became intolerable that we have to seek refuge in Xiangzi Bridge because they were not allowed in. Instead of moving on, they camped outside waiting for us. As soon we came out, they were harassing us again. My eldest BIL lost his temper and told them to shove off but they still continued following us. My younger BIL stopped and told them they are ungrateful lots and they can continue to follow us but they will be getting nothing. It was before long they got the message.

Later, the locals told us these beggars are a syndicate of people hiring blind people, babies, crippled or deformed children to make money out sympathetic tourists. It was disgusting to hear that and I wish the local council or police would do something about it before tourists are driven away.

Shantou – Getting To The Root Part 2

The first home my in-laws had was in Imbi opposite where Imbi Chapel is today before they moved to Peel Road and finally to Taman Cheras. Not long after the 2^nd World War came and the Japanese invade Malaya. The family fled to Ampang from the invading army. After things calm down, my FIL tried to salvage the business but it was fruitless. Things were hard with 6 children but with perseverance and help the family pulled through. My MIL’s only brother was taken away by Japanese and never heard of again.

After the war my FIL started up the business again with a partner and things began to look good. One day his step brother came from Singapore and told him a sad story. He told my FIL he is about to lose the shop where his business is because the owner is selling off the land. My kind hearted FIL decided to buy the piece of land and gave him the money to purchase the land under my FIL’s name. Some months later my FIL having not from him became concern and made a trip to Singapore. He discovered there were no shop and no land. His step brother had squandered the money. He was furious and never spoke to him again.

Compounding to the problem, his suppliers were chasing for payments. He was to find out his partner was not paying the suppliers and was taking money out of the business. Confronting his partner, he discovered he was gambling the company’s money away and have incurred a large debt. Sadly the business had to fold.

One of his suppliers hearing his problem and offered him a job and having no choice he took the job. My eldest brother in law left school early to work and help support the family. As things were beginning to settle down, my FIL was feeling unwell. Doctor diagnosed he was suffering from nose cancer and it was not good. Seeking permission from the government, he left for China for treatment.

L to R: The street leading to my FIL's house, a typical Chinese home front door, a house in my FIL's village

L to R: The place where my FIL's mum washes clothes by the river, the entrance leading to my FIL' village, the Phua's Clan community hall

During his stay in China, he saw the persecution of the Chinese people by its own people. There were starvation, hardship and the ruthlessness of the Red Guards. Unable to stomach the devastation, he came back. Sadly not long after he passed away.

In spite of the unfortunate circumstances, my MIL made every effort to send money, clothes, medicine and food to her younger sister and sister in law in China. We never knew how this small sacrifice and gesture had made a big impact to the lives of the families in China. The little sacrifice my MIL made help the families tide through the hardship, the cold, the starvation and made a big difference to their lives.

My MIL went back to China after Mao’s death and when China was more relaxed under Deng Xiaoping. She went back alone and managed to find her way back to her hometown.

L to R: Entrance to my MIL's family home, the street to my MIL's family home, my BIL with my MIL's cousin presently living in her family home.

L to R: My MIL's room (as store room), the outer courtyard of my MIL's family home, the shop of my MIL's parents

L to R: my MIL's family community hall where they were educated, the Kwek's Clan community hall, a few of my MIL's ancestors who held high posts in the government

It was here she learned that property owners can reclaim their properties back which were confiscated by the Red Guard during the Cultural Revolution. My MIL and her sister began the process to claim back her home and land which my FIL bought. Sadly she passed away not long after that. Her younger sister continued to pursue the claim and was successful. With the permission from my Eldest brother in law, the land was developed by a developer and in return the family got a block of six floored flat. During those days, you would be considered well off owning a property of this size. The aunty, her husband and her three children lived in 4 of the flat and the remaining 2 was for my MIL. I am not sure if the remaining 2 floor were rented out or remain vacant. Because of China's law the ownership cannot be in foreign citizen name, it remains in my wife’s Aunty name.

L to R: The family flat, entrance to the family flat, my eldest BIL, Aunty and youngest SIL

Few years ago, some of my brother in law and sister in law went back to China for holiday and looked up the Aunty. The Aunty asked to see the remaining sibling. It was this simple request, the remaining few sibling made this trip. The Aunty told us stories of the family, the suffering and my MIL love for their family, how the simple gesture my MIL sent helped them survived the years of hardship under Mao and the Gang of Four. Her family cannot thank my wife side of the family enough for all the sacrifices they gave in spite of the hardship they faced in KL. More ever, they are thankful for the home where they lived today.

Though we were there 2 days and 3 night, I don't think I saw enough of Shantou. It is a growing city with modern buildings but there is the older side of the city and this is the part I like to explore and see how the people live, the rustic old buildings, the smell and taste of more local food. Yes, I do not mind visiting & exploring Shantou again.

L to R: Painting by the renown artist, Cu Peng, in the family, tool of the trade, the artist showing his painting to the family

Food, glorious food, Teow Chew Food

Shantou – Getting To The Root Part 1

When I told some friends we are going to Shantou in China, you can see the change in their expressions. It is an expression of confusion, lost for words, where in the world is Shantou or you must be crazy. What is there to see in Shantou? Don’t you think the money is better spent visiting Beijing, Shanghai, Soo Chou, Xian or some bigger cities?

Well, like everything there is always a reason. To understand the reason, we have to travel back in time to many years ago. So come and take a walk with me.

My parents-in-law came to Malaya before the 2^nd World War. My father-in-law (FIL) came from a well to do family and was highly educated. His father was a merchant and hails from Shantou and has businesses in China and Malaya. Thus he travels up and down between these two countries. He owns a wholesale business trading in imported goods from UK, China and around the world. The shop was in Jalan Rodger, a few doors away from the Central Market in Kuala Lumpur. The shop is still standing there today.

My mother-in-law (MIL) also came from Shantou. She came from a well to do family. Her father was a rice merchant in Shantou. In those days it is unheard of girls getting education but her father saw to it that his daughters should have the best education. He hired private tutor for his children. My MIL also helped to look after and run the shop and again it was unheard of in those days. My MIL is Tom Boyish. She is very inquisitive and has learned traditional medicine from a Sifu in her village. My brothers and sister-in-laws testifies they have never been to a western doctor in their younger days and have always asked her for advice after they left home until she passed away. My MIL would use her traditional skill and natural path medicine to cure their ailments. Many stories have been told of her skills. That will be another story for another day.

My FIL village is “Phua Ling” and my MIL village is “Kwek Ling”. The 2 villages are separated by a river and surrounded by paddy fields. The river was their life line. It provided water for drinking and cooking and gave life to the paddy fields.

Because my MIL was tomboy, many match makers shunned her. During those days girls got married as early as 12 years old, any older than that it was hard to find a prospective husband. All hope was lost for my MIL as she passed 12 but God has his own plan.

When the time came for my FIL to look for a wife, a match maker wanted to make money, decided to match make my MIL to him, knowing if she succeed, she will be rewarded with a big Ang Pow. So she took my FIL and his parents to my MIL home. The plan was to have my MIL to walk pass at a distance through the courtyard, so my FIL can have a glance at her. If he is happy with her, the match maker will pass the good news to her parents.

It was love at first sight for my FIL and he agreed to marry my MIL. So after consulting and astrologer, a date was arranged for the marriage. (If any single girls out there reading this and wondering if they will ever find a husband, do not lose hope, your soul mate is out there. It is all in God’s timing. Be patience).

On day of the wedding, in the midst of celebration, bandits came down from the hill looking for my FIL hoping to kidnap him for a ransom because he was a rich man’s son. Those days, bandits are egoistic and would make loud noises – banging their gongs to announce their arrival as they descend from the hills. This gave the villagers sufficient time to scatter and hide. My FIL ran off into the wood and hid himself until the bandits left.

The incident left him shaken and he never forgotten about it. He moved out of the village and bought a piece of land and built a home near the coast. I was told during his days you could see the sea from the house. Today you cannot see the sea because of land reclamation with new high rise buildings. Ever since that day my FIL & MIL moved out of his village, my FIL never returned to his village. He hated the bandits and vowed to never returned the village.

My FIL’s father business in KL was flourishing and he was summoned to KL. He set sailed with his wife and their 3 year old son to Malaya.

To Be continued

Shenzhen in a day and night

The 3^rd day in Hong Kong we woke up early, had our breakfast and started packing for the trip up to Shenzhen. From where we stayed it was a short walk to Causeway Bay MTR station. The rain was packed but the 12 of us manage to squeeze in with our heavy luggage. Our next stop was 2 stations away and we stop at Admiralty and swap train on another line to Tsim Sha Tsui station which was also 2 stops away. Here we have to lug our luggage and walk a distance to EastTsim Sha Tsui station. This line passes through New Territories to the border of China.

We just miss the earlier train and waited for the next train. Every 15 minutes there is a train. The train we caught was surprisingly empty. As the train moved in New Territories, the landscape changes. It was green and still undeveloped. Every now and then you see a few old houses and farm.

We stopped at Sheung Shui Station and walked to the immigration. There were not many of us on this train. Since we were foreigners, we have to fill up the immigration form and health declaration. We queue up to collect the form and began filling up the forms when the next train arrived.

Suddenly the immigration station was filled with horde of rushing passengers rushing to clear the immigration. In between the span of 10 minutes 2 trains arrived. Most of these were passengers from mainland China returning home. They just push through their way through ignoring the queue up sign and nearly took us with them through the rush. We were alarmed. Clearly the health officers saw us filling up forms in the corner were concerned. They came out to make sure we were not trampled by the unruly crowd. It was frightening experience.

We waited for the queue to clear and before the next train to arrive before we cleared immigration and custom.

Outside our mini bus driver was waiting for us. He led us through overhead bridges to where he parked. He arrived early but was chased off by the police, thus he has to park further away.
My first impression the place was dirty and not properly maintained. Even some local were having problems looking for the station.

It took us a while to clear the traffic before we reached the hotel.

Our hotel looked impressive as we arrived. It was rated 4 stars. After registering and receiving our keys to the rooms, we were met with disappointment. The carpet was stained with mark, cigarette burns and the room smelled of smoke. Closer investigation, we found the long bath was not properly scrubbed, shower leaking and bad plumbing system.

Shenzhen is one busy city and in a rush to catch up the modern world. While in a rush to progress, it fails to pay close to finer details. It failed to learn from the mistakes other makes. On closer look the quality and workmanship were bad.

We walked around looking for lunch and found a place to eat. It was not the best and food was passable and was quite expensive. For the price we paid we could have better quality food over here.

We caught up with my wife’s cousin in the evening, who lived in Shenzhen and we had dinner at one of the restaurant nearby the hotel. Before we ordered any food we make sure we checked and agreed on the prices. It was known unsuspecting foreign customers were fleeced with a large and inflated bill.

After the dinner, we went to the cousin’s place. It was about half an hour drive out of the city. Along the way we saw the bridge linking to Hong Kong. It was funded by Li Ka-Shing. The cousin lived in one of the new housing estate built by Li Ka-Shing. It was a well planned estate following the concept of Singapore. We were all impressed by the planning and quality of the estate. Three years ago, the apartment was about a million Yuan. Today it is 3 million Yuan.

Shenzhen is busy city. It is filled with migrant workers from all over China to make a quick buck. It is still not orderly unlike their neighbour Hong Kong. It want to be first class but unfortunately it still have 3^rd class mentality. Drivers toot their horns discriminately. They are the king of the road. Stepping into pedestrian crossing does not ensure one a safe crossing. It is like dipping your toe into shark infested water. As soon as you put your foot onto the crossing, cars appears from nowhere with their horns blasting at you. Cross at your own peril.

One day and one night at Shenzhen is enough for me.

Hong Kong In A Hurry

After the wedding and a heavy dinner, we reach home late in the night. Instead of having an early night after a long day, we were packing for tomorrow trip to Hong Kong. With little or no sleep we left for the airport early next morning.

The flight to Hong Kong was pleasant without any delay except for MAS services. When we checked in as a group, we told the ticketing officer to put us in a row of 2 by the windows but the silly girl did not do it. We checked our sitting arrangement and complained but she replied it was too late to change once the boarding passes are issued. We were furious and could do nothing. I guess that was the standard of MAS services. There were 11 of us in the flight sitting all over the plane. The food was crap, too.

I am always skeptical about Hong Kong. Having heard of many people bad experiences, I always have a bad impression of HK. So without doubt, I wondered whether I will enjoy HK. We have decided not to visit all the touristy places like Disneyland or theme parks etc but to move around like the locals and go where the locals goes, eat where the locals eat, shop where the local shops.

The first impression was I do not like Hong Kong airport. It was dull and unlively. The think it has to be the choice of paintwork colour combined with the uninteresting architecture and decorations.

I must admit I am impressed with their public transports. It was efficient and always on time. Their trams are small, double deck, colourfully decorated and always crowded.

Signs were well lighted and placed and we have no problem travelling in HK. One thing though, people are always in a hurry and in a rush pushing their way through without “please or thank you.”

Food wise, I must agree the food are good and I enjoyed eating in HK but be careful some places can be exceptionally expensive. Always check the prices.

As for shopping, I do not think things are cheaper unless it is on sales. I compared some prices and it is comparably with prices over here or in KL. So I did not buy anything in HK. In fact the cameras are more expensive and in the end I got a new spanking digital camera in KL at a much lower price.

HK is clean and safe but still you need to be wary of pick pockets in crowded places especially street markets. One thing for sure HK won’t be dull especially it has plenty of night lives.

Language wise, my Cantonese may not be good but with sprinkle of English and a good map I can move around freely Well, I do not mind going to HK again but it won’t be my top priority at the moment.

Two Wedding And A Holiday

Last month there were 2 wedding. One was before our holiday and the other was on my holiday. It seems there was a conspiracy to send me pokai before I spend all my “mullah” shopping during my holiday.

Wedding 1

My niece and her fiancée flew back from USA to get hitched before their families and friends. It was a simple wedding held at Chateau Yering up in Yarra Valley. Chateau Yering is North East of Melbourne and is an hour drive from my place and adjoining to Yering Station Winery.

The day was a warm day but pleasant enough for a wedding. The wedding was a simple affair, easy and uncomplicated. I love simple weddings. Even though it was simple wedding out in the lawn, a reception followed by a dinner, it was expensive. Let say, it was enough to put a deposit for a 300G home.

Wedding 2

Wedding 2 was my nephew wedding. He recently migrated over here and lived with us for a while. The wedding was held in KL at Hotel Eastin. It was a traditional Chinese wedding with all bells and whistles follow up with a simple Christian ceremony and a sumptuous dinner. The wedding was planned sometime ago like our holiday and co-incidentally it fell within our holiday. After the wedding we flew off the next day to Hong Kong for our holiday.

Home And Alone

If you have been dropping in now and then to find this blog has not been updated, I must profusely apologize for wasting your precious time. It was not that I lost interest in blogging. It was because I was so busy in many things that take priorities over blogging.

The last 4 weeks were busy weeks. We have overseas visitors staying with us. They were here for a holiday and a wedding. Then, there is the need to catch up with my work before I go on a 2 week + holiday. My boss is no help at all. He promised to help but it all hot air. After the holiday, my work piled up. Two bloody week of work and no one did anything at all and I have this whole week to finish the 2 weeks outstanding work so production can flow continuously. Again, my boss let me down. Look like there is no point in taking a holiday and returning back to work all stressed up.

I come home early from my holiday because I have not enough annual leave. My other half is in KL and having a ball with her sisters, while I am home & alone. Initially I thought it was great with the whole house to myself. I can do what I want - roaming around the house naked (wink, wink, just kidding), eating what I want, having the whole bed to myself and having the TV all to myself. Merdeka!

After the 2^nd day, I miss my wife. The house was so quiet except for the TV. I got no mood to cook for myself or go out to eat. I hate eating alone in public places. So I am having sandwiches for breakfast and dinner just enough to feed me and keep me going. Nothing elaborates – 2 pieces of whole meal bread with cheese and a piece of turkey meat, washed down with a cup of hot cocoa. It is not that I cannot cook. I see there is no point doing the hard yard for a single person. I like thing to be quick and easy.

After living with someone for 20 years, it is hard to live alone. I guess it takes time to get into living alone and I am not sure if I can get use to it. I guess it will be sandwiches and sandwiches for another few days until the other half return home.

Sigh!