My family will be in Taishan from July 17-20. Our main reason for going is to see the ancestral home of my mom’s Wong (Huang) family and my dad’s Fong (Kuang) family. The last time I visited was with my mom, my wife Cindi, and her dad in 1997. It’s been almost 30 years since that trip. Without my mom’s help, I didn’t think I could find the villages. I wrote in a previous post about my quest to find them.
Overview
This is the part of Taishan that my family is from. The yellow stars are my “favorite” places that I tagged on AMap. From top to bottom, left to right (links to Google Maps):
- Cangxia Community Residents’ Committee (仓下社区居委会)—I’m just using this to mark the broader village that my dad’s sub-village is part of.
- Taishan Peizheng Middle School (台山培正中学)—Closest middle school to my dad’s village.
- Yifengli (仪凤里)—My dad’s village.
- Shihuashan Park (石花山公园)—Well-known attraction for the area, which is easy to find in any map.
- Taicheng (台城)—City center and administrative capital of Taishan.
Wait! How do you even get to Taishan?
We will be flying to Hong Kong.* From Hong Kong, you need to take two trains. One from Hong Kong West Kowloon Station to Guangzhou South Train Station. And another from Guangzhou South to Taishan Railway Station.
* We are staying in Hong Kong for a few days before heading to Taishan. If you were going straight from HKIA to Taishan, you could take a bus directly from the airport.
My Father’s Village (Fong / Kwong / Kuang)
Below is a picture of the outer walls of Yifengli from my 1997 visit.
This one is of a spring that is part of the village. My grandmother told me that she used to carry spring water to sell at a nearby hotel to earn money as a single mom.
Below is a map of road to Yifengli. The village is in the lower right at the end of the road. I believe the road leads to the pictures you see above. The small rectangles marked by 仪凤里 is our village.
Beware of AI help
AI: “Today, as Taicheng has modernized and expanded, Yifengli is officially registered as Yifeng Village (仪凤村), located along Lanes 1 through 10 (仪凤村10巷) within the Cangxia Community network. It is located just a short distance north of Taicheng’s old historical city center, putting your ancestral home in a highly urbanized, convenient part of Taishan rather than a remote mountain region.”
Some of the above is probably accurate, but you CANNOT find the right village by searching 仪凤村 (Yifengcun), you need to search 仪凤里 or 仪凤里 村庄 (Yifengli Cunzhuang).
Schools, Schools, Schools
My Father’s Elementary School (道昌学校). Picture from 1997 Trip
Below is a picture of the middle school where my my mom taught. I have a story about a middle school where my mom taught, and where my dad went to play volleyball. The two of them met there and eventually married. I do not know if this is the same school. Yong’an Zhongxue (台山 永安 中学).
My Mom’s Home in Toisan (Wong / Huang village)
My grandfather sent home money from San Francisco to build three houses side-by-side in Dongshengcun (东盛村). It will be a challenge to find this village. The instructions that my cousin gave me were drawn on the back of a paper plate.
Below is a picture of us walking up to the house.
And a view from the village…
Places to Visit in Taicheng
Ningcheng Park (宁城公园) has an artificial lake that my mom helped make in the 1950’s. Known by locals as Taicheng Artificial Lake (台城人工湖) [reference]
Further Out
Chikan Ancient Town Movie & Television Town: Historic Yuanshan Market and Changfan School
AI: “Walk out into the empty, ghostly quiet courtyard surrounded by 58 historic Qilou buildings. Right next to it, take photos of the striking 1924 red-brick Changfan School with its massive Western pillars.”