Back to the Motherland (Guangzhou)

After a few days in Shanghai we flew straight to Guangzhou, China. Thankfully Guangzhou is one of the few cities in China where we can speak cantonese and everyone understands. The main reason why I wanted to go is to see where my parents grew up and how they met. The city is a bit of a mess right now since they are preparing for the 2010 Asian Games. Most of the roads and tourist attractions were being repaired so it was difficult to walk around. Personally, I found Guangzhou people to be a lot more civilized than the ones we encountered in Shanghai. I felt the city was more similar to Hong Kong than China. The whole time we were there we didn't get pushed or shoved, lol.

We arrived at the Guangzhou airport to be picked up by my uncle from Hong Kong that I've never met. Luckily he printed and lamenated a photo of me for reference:


I like how he printed a current picture of me as well as one when I was 8 and one of my mom. =|


Once we got our luggage and met up with my uncle we checked into our hotel, which was pretty clean and spacious. Instead of resting we walked over to the Pearl River to take pictures, went to Beijing Road where there are lots of stores and snack vendors, and visited the apartment my mom grew up in.

Picture with my aunts and uncle along the Pearl River.

According to my mom once you go up the stairs and open the door there is 4 seperate rooms that housed 4 different families. There was a communal washroom and kitchen and that's about it.


After all of that walking we finally took a train to dinner. We went to a chinese restaurant to try a few traditional Guangzhou dishes. My uncle also shared stories of my parents when they were dating, which was very entertaining.

The next day we woke up fairly early to have dim sum at the hotel's restaurant then off we went to my dad's old house (much bigger than my mom's):




Then we visited the Chen's Lineage Hall, which is where the Chen family lived.



Above is the altar where the Chen family used to pray to their ancestors. Through numerous generations the altar would be filled with pieces of wood with the names of the deceased carved onto it.


While we were walking to and from I took a random picture of this guy hanging out. Keep in mind that day was really hot.




We also went to Yuexiu Park where people can fish, play basketball and even climb the mountain. We were too exhausted to do any of that. At night Norm and I went back to Beijing Road and shopped a bit. Then we went for a relaxing (and very cheap) massage at the hotel. The next morning we took a direct train back to Hong Kong. Overall, I really enjoyed seeing where my parents grew up and being able to take lots of pictures to show them how much Guangzhou has changed.

-Mandy