Vignettes of the World
I was only spending one day in Yangshuo and by the afternoon I had decided to take it easy. The boat tour of Lijiang River would be departing soon at 3pm on Binjiang Road, so I hurried to the pier. This 1.5-hour boat ride will …
My first impression of Yangshuo was that it was a vast expanse of a no-man’s land. From the Edge of Yangshuo County to Yangshuo City Proper Bright and early at 8:20 am I was at the Qianxing Square of Huangyao Ancient Town and ready to …
I arrived at Huangyao in the late afternoon and I had not had any food since a very early breakfast. I decided to have a bowl of Guilin Mifen (rice noodles) before I did more touring of the ancient town.
Photo: The West Gate of Huangyao, outside of which I found the Guilin mifen bowl noodles.
It did not seem to me that the restaurants were open inside the ancient town, so I exited through the West Gate and hunted for food outside of the ancient town. Right across the street from the West Gate there were some small establishments open. I was going to try a popular one, where some patrons were already sitting, but I noticed the one next door was cleaner. I then picked that one.
And make no mistake, this would be the very best Guilin mifen (rice noodles) that I had throughout all of this trip. What a pleasant surprise!
The noodles were very chewy. There were small pieces of pork, which were tender and flavorful. Then there was an unlimited refill of condiments: spring onions, pickled vegetables, garlic crisps and roasted peanuts. I also added some vinegar, and the food was a bowl of delight, with a wonderful mixture of complex textures. For all of the Guilin mifen that I had after this, there was not one bowl that had chewy noodles. I guess the standard mifen was simply soft and smooth.
I felt incredible satisfied, as I also had a serving of dumplings, which were not bad either. With this I went back into the ancient town to see more of its antiquity.
Despite it being a pretty developed town with commerce and a civilized lifestyle, Huangyao is still rural in character. The most well-known product of Huangyao is fermented black beans. Its black beans come with a wide variation of different types. The most common kind was the plain fermented black beans, where you would have to add your own seasoning and marinate to go along with meats. They are in dry, sealed packages. Then there are the pre-marinated kind, with other strongly-flavored ingredients, such as red chilli or soy sauce. For those, you would just dish out the black beans to serve as a flavor-booster along with a plain noodle.
When I was strolling in the ancient town, I came across a store selling milky can drinks. This drink acquires its name for its being cooked on “cans,” over an open fire stove. I ordered the rose tea, and it came with rose petals, dried longan, osmanthus fragrans, dried red dates, goji berries and some other dried herbs and flowers. The mixture sat on the stove for a good ten minutes to draw out all the fragrances. Served piping hot this potion of delight kept me warm for the rest of my sightseeing.
When I have made a round throughout Huangyao, the night had befallen. I figured that it was time for dinner. I found Tingtao Fandian, a restaurant with outdoor seating by the Yaojiang creek. It has the beautiful name meaning “hearing waves.”
Photo: At the restaurant, I sat by the creek and savored this view of Huangyao as I had my dinner.
Unfortunately, they did not serve the other famous dish of Guilin, which is the beer fish pot. I then ordered the next thing on my list – steamed spareribs with fermented black beans. Since I was in Huangyao after all, I should have the ancient town’s specialty.
The plate of steamed spareribs came in a generous portion, and the seasoning of the fish was done just right. Steaming the spareribs preserves the natural juiciness of the meat, and the fermented black beans really accentuated the savouriness of the dish.
I had to eat very slowly because frankly half of that big bowl of Guilin mifen that I had just two hours prior was still keeping me full. As I was eating at a leisurely pace there were fireworks. I was impressed – it clearly was low season but the ancient town put up fireworks. I was very happy with my dining experiences in Huangyao. But I was too full.
After dinner, I walked again around the Main Street area, and the night lit shops certainly gave out a different vibe. It was beautiful and peaceful to walk in Huangyao at night.
The bus to Yangshuo would be passing by Qianxing Square the next morning at 8:40am. It’s the only bus to Yangshuo, running once daily. I decided to head back to the Dayuan Cultural Theme Hostel and rest for the night.
A leisurely walk within the ancient town of Huangyao will take some three hours or so. I began walking into the ancient town from Qianxing Square and came across the main street with all kinds of vendors and restaurants. The storefronts were all well-kept and …
At the Qianxing Square drop-off point I first came across the Ancient Stage. Built in the third year of the Jiaqing reign in Ming dynasty (1524), the Ancient Stage was the only building in Huangyao that served the purpose of cultural performances. When it was …
I have long wanted to visit the Liu Man Shek Tong Ancestral Hall in Sheung Shui because it is quite close to home. On this sunny spring day I finally went to learn about the Lius and their history at the beautiful, near-majestic Liu Man Shek Tong.
Along with the Tangs, Pangs, Mans, and the Haus, the Lius are considered one of the “five great clans of the New Territories.” These five great clans are considered indigenous inhabitants, and at law the male descendants have the right to land provision. The Tangs and the Mans have mostly settled down in the Yuen Long and Tai Po areas, the Pangs in Fanling, and the Lius have a prominent presence in Sheung Shui along with the Haus. In Sheung Shui Heung, where the Liu Man Shek Tong is, the Lius are particularly populous and influential.
During the Song dynasty, the Lius lived in Fujian. In the middle of the Yuan dynasty (13th to 14th centuries), the ancestor Liu Chung-kit moved southward and settled down in this part of southern China. The Lius eventually founded their first village, Wai Loi Village. Then they took over the surrounding areas of Po Sheung Tsuen, and Mun Hau Tsuen as the clan grew in numbers. This area of Sheung Shui became known as Sheung Shui Heung.
As the largest ancestral hall of all the Lius in Sheung Shui, the Liu Man Shek Tong Ancestral Hall celebrates a lineage that had exceptional beginnings. Many of the Liu ancestors were government officials and their learnedness is celebrated in the Liu Man Shek Tong Ancestral Hall.
The Liu Man Shek Tong Ancestral Hall was built in the 16th year of the Qianlong Reign during the Qing dynasty (1751). Unlike most other ancestral halls in the New Territories, where they bear the name of a certain accomplished ancestor, the name Man Shek in this ancestral hall has a special story. According to the description on site,
Literally meaning 10,000 shi (“shek” a unit of measure for grain), the name “Man Shek” dates back to the Song dynasty… a distant ancestor of the clan, Liu Kong, and his four sons were all high government officials who each earned an annual salary of 2,000 shi of cereal, thus 10,000 shi in total. Their descendants named the ancestral hall “Liu Man Shek Tong” in their honour.
When the Lius have well-settled in Sheung Shui Heung for centuries, they began the construction of the Liu Man Shek Tong Ancestral Hall during the 18th century. Besides the five original ancestors that inspired the name of this first ancestral hall for the Lius in Hong Kong, there were some 47 members who have made notable achievements in the imperial examinations in the clan’s history. As will be discussed below, one can tell that the Lius are very proud of their scholarly achievements as learnedness is celebrated in the Liu Man Shek Tong Ancestral Hall.
In 1932, the Liu Man Shek Tong Ancestral Hall was turned into a kindergarten in an effort to promote modern education. This kindergarten would eventually develop into the Fung Kai Liu Man Shek Tong Secondary School.
To this day, the Liu Man Shek Tong Ancestral Hall is still the venue for holding the Lius’ spring and autumn ancestral rites.
Photo: A time capsule is laid at the Liu Man Shek Tong Ancestral Hall.
At the grand entrance to the Liu Man Shek Tong Ancestral Hall is hung two large red lanterns with the character of the surname “Liu” on them. This feature is unusually grand even for all the ancestral halls of the New Territories.
As such, with just a cursory look at the building, I could observe that the Liu Man Shek Tong Ancestral Hall is very special. There are many, many ancestral halls in the New Territories villages, and most of them come with a two-hall one-courtyard layout. The Liu Man Shek Tong Ancestral Hall is a three-court two-courtyard structure. That means it is bigger.
I said earlier that it is near-majestic because the experience of walking through two courtyards and three halls itself is unusual. As I did walk through the three halls, it reminded me of my previous visits of former palaces in Asia, where halls stand after halls seeming innumerable in an endless series of structures.
At a previous visit in the Mei Fung Hau Ancestral Hall in Kam Tsin Village, I learned that the two red sandstone pillars were the most expensive material used in the ancestral hall. The red sandstone is also featured at the Liu Man Shek Tong Ancestral Hall, but as the material that was laid on the groundwork in the rear hall, where the ancestral altar is located. This also shows the wealth of the Lius in Sheung Shui.
In terms of other architectural features, the Liu Man Shek Tong “is richly embellished with plaster mouldings, wood carvings and murals of auspicious motifs. The tiled roofs are supported on stone and wooden columns and an intricate system of carved wooden trusses and brackets.”
In the rear hall, many wooden plaques featuring different levels of scholarly accomplishments are hung on the wall. They are grand testaments to the scholarly accomplishments of the Liu ancestors.
A major restoration of the Liu Man Shek Tong Ancestral Hall took place in 1985 with the advice of the government.
A visit at the Liu Man Shek Ancestral Hall will take at least half an hour if you read through the exhibits showing the story of the Lius in the rear hall.
From the Sheung Shui MTR station, it takes about 15-20 minutes to get to the Liu Man Shek Tong Ancestral Hall. Google Map should be able to take you there, but from Shek Wu Hui (the old market area of Sheung Shui), make it out to San Fung Road.
Photo: On San Fung Road, make a left here onto Po Wan Road (see also photographs below).
Make a left onto Po Wan Road, then cross the street.
Next, cross the street on Po Shek Wu Road. After crossing Po Shek Wu Road, make a right. Keep on going. You will come across this large traffic signage.
Afar you will see the Fung Kai Liu Man Shek Tong Secondary School.
Make a left here and enter into the village.
Keep on going. You will see some other antique monuments on the way, such as the Old Sheung Shui Police Station (now the site for Junior Police Call, JPC).
You will then come across the trash collection point. Keep on going to your left.
You will walk by a village park.
Then you will come across the signs for Liu Man Shek Tong Ancestral Hall inside the village.
Descriptions on site at the Liu Man Shek Tong Ancestral Hall
The History of Liu Man Shek Tong at the Fung Kai Liu Man Shek Tong Secondary School (Chin).
The day was bright with a perfect azure sky. I wanted to do an interesting but easy walk so I visited the Old Quarry of Lei Yue Mun. The History of Lei Yue Mun as a Strategic Location Photo: A Panorama of the Lei Yue …
I love visiting ancient towns in China. In this blog I have covered the Gankeng Ancient Hakka Townlet and the Dapeng Fortress in Shenzhen. Apparently, many tourists find ancient towns to be very attractive tourist sites, and China’s local governments and cultural heritage developers have …
Guilin was my first trip in 2024. The trip lasted four days and three nights, and I visited the ancient towns of Huangyao, Yangshuo and Xingping.
Perhaps at a long-forgotten time I have visited Guilin proper with my parents. When I was growing up, Guilin was featured in one of the articles in my Chinese textbook as a place of iconic scenic beauty. As such, in those days of humble means, most Hong Kong people thought of Guilin as a wonderful travel destination. Most of the children in my generation would have visited Guilin before we turned teenage.
I retained no memory of that first trip in Guilin, however, and so I decided to see the magnificent landscapes of the surrounding areas of Guilin this time. There is an adventure element in this trip, as Huangyao was not a kind of place that common tourists go. I would certainly be seeing a face of Guilin that was not featured on my primary school textbook.
My itinerary was first day in Huangyao, then second day in Yangshuo, then finally the last day in Xingping. I returned to Hong Kong on the fourth day.
I would be taking the High Speed Rail (HSR) from Shenzhen North. I live in the North District in Hong Kong and so Shenzhen North is a much more convenient location for me. The ticket is also cheaper with a departure from Shenzhen (versus that of the West Kowloon Station in Hong Kong).
If you are travelling by HSR, be sure to book tickets at least a month in advance. While the tickets are open for booking only two weeks prior to the travel date, Trip.com allows you to book a little earlier (it puts you in a queue, so to speak). And even though I booked the tickets in December for the January trip, I had not managed to book the return trip from Guilin direct to Shenzhen North. Instead I had to stop by Guangzhou South before heading back to Shenzhen North.
I do believe that ticketing for the HSR is a hassle at any time of the year, therefore plan early.
In terms of how HSR works, there is no issued ticket now. What you do is to arrive at the station early for electronic check-in (please do remember that the auto check-in queue in the West Kowloon Station will not admit you if you try to get through less than 20 minutes before your departure time). At the machine, simply place your ID (either your Return Home Permit or your passport, whatever document you used to book your ticket), and the scanner should recognize you and admit you.
However, it has been very annoying that the ticket scanners at many of the mainland HSR stations did not recognize my Home Return Permit as Hong Kong resident. Please be prepared that this will happen when scanner fails, and what you do is simply approach the staff, who usually stand on the sides of the ticket scanners, for manual check-in.
As I have discussed before, China is rapidly proceeding to a cashless society. E-payment has become a near-irreplaceable means in any kind of transaction. Some tourist venues no longer accept cash payments.
This trip was my first trip outside of the Greater Bay Area. Although my Alipay and WeChat Pay worked without issues in Shenzhen and Guangzhou, I did have to go through more confirmation procedures when I tried to use my payment apps in Guilin. The hiccups usually happen when I tried to pay individuals, and you most likely would run into that situation when you take a taxi or when you eat at very small restaurants or purchase at small vendors.
I guess my only advice for tourists looking to visit China is to do all confirmation and linking of these apps with your bank account and credit card before you go on the trip. You may still run into hiccups, and in that case you would just have to follow the instructions on the payment apps as they come. There was one occasion in this trip where I really had to use my cash. Be sure to prepare cash with you, and smaller bills would be more handy because usually it is with small vendors that glitches happen.
I also think that one must have both WeChat Pay and Alipay set up when they travel in China. WeChat Pay is generally more popular. Also, there are times when one does not work, but the other does. Therefore both e-payment apps are necessary.
I do not have a China mobile phone number and at many points in my travel it was quite an inconvenience. For example, for all kinds of private car calling apps, you would not be able to even sign in without a China phone number. Also in many museums and ticketing sites, for pre-booking they only allow a China phone number for registration.
In my travels to Shenzhen, Guangzhou and this trip to Guilin, I did manage to survive without having a China phone number, but if I were to go farther still for longer trips (which I am planning), then acquiring a China phone number is necessary, both for the sake of convenience and safety.
For Hong Kong residents, the easiest way to go about getting a China phone number is by topping up your current mobile phone plan with your carrier.
Whenever I travel in China I simply purchase roaming plans with my existing carrier in Hong Kong. The data from my roaming plan works well but it is limited.
The problem with China networks is that VPN is necessary, especially with your phone. Without VPN, you would not be able to access the internet with the hotel wifi with your phone. For my laptop, however, there is no connectivity issue with hotel wifi.
My bestie and I had a full day of fun with yummy food and interesting sightseeing in Shenzhen. We started the day at Fascino Bakery in CoCo Park in Futian, then visited Shui Wei 1368, then the Ancient Art Museum of the Shenzhen Museum. We …