Posted by JWC Low on September 24, 1997 at 20:12:55:
In Reply to: Re: Visiting your ancestral village in China posted by Gside on September 11, 1997 at 22:52:38:
I went in July 1996 to Sanbu (up to Pearl River)to visit my 94 yr. old Grammy. My Mom has been communicating and visited her relatives. Most to hook up with relatives, don't just go to Toishan because it's like going to a large county. You must know your village and it would be nice to have relative there. Be bilingual because there won't be any translators. If you have family over there, be sure to have the village name written in Chinese. We took the ferry from Hong Kong and stayed overnight in Sanbu. We visited our maternal ancestral home and got photos of our greatgreatgrandparents' names and generations as listed on the ancestral register at grandma's house over there. I took photos of the calligraphy and luckily the photos came out legible. I am the 21st generation on my mother's side. Most of the villagers have moved to the city for work and come home to the village during festivals and perhaps weekends. My Mother outfitted me with some red envelopes; Returnee gifts. email for more details. I am author of CHINA CONNECTION:Finding Ancestral Roots for Chinese in America. I'll be at NYU doing a workshop on documenting our roots Oct. 11th.