Vignettes of the World
Want milk tea? Cha Chaan Teng is the way to go. Cha (tea) chaan teng (restaurant), refers to a practice in the early times that these restaurants would charge you double if you sat there and only sipped the bland Chinese tea that the waiter …
What is known as the Cantonese bamboo noodles (in Cantonese “Zuk Sing” noodles) is a food familiar to many. The yellow, stringy and bouncy noodle is the very spirit in the Cantonese wonton noodle soup. Many people in Hong Kong and Guangdong would consider a …
I like seeing old towns and villages. I have seen a few of the ancient old towns and communities in Shenzhen, including the Dapeng Fortress, Gankeng Ancient Hakka Townlet, Nantou Ancient City and Shui Wei 1368. I was interested in the areas in Shenzhen that feature lesser-known communities that have preserved an aged vibe.
Shajing was a perfect choice for this outing. Located in Baoan, northwestern Shenzhen, the former site of Shajing Xu (old market) has also undergone restoration. As such the area is clean with hip elements, such as large wall murals.
Shajing was a thriving market in the ancient times, as one of the busiest districts in the ancient county of Baoan in Shenzhen. Before its natural landscape gradually changed into a flatland by the seaside around 2,500 years ago, the area was once a bay itself. This gave rise to Shajing’s early beginning in salt making and trade. Salt was the lifeline for this part of Shenzhen during the Song and Yuan dynasties. At first, salt was yielded by boiling sea water. Then the people of Shajing yielded salt by sun drying the sea water in salt pans. Shajing’s Gui De salt field was one of the 13 major salt fields in the Guangdong Province.
The oyster growing industry in Shajing traced a history of a thousand years since the Song dynasty. By the Qing dynasty, the salt industry has become obsolete. The people then turned to another sea-related trade—oyster farming. They engaged in the cultivation of oysters on bamboo staffs, a type of off-bottom native oyster farming technique.
By the Ming and Qing dynasties, the oyster industry in Shajing became the primary produce and business for the community. Where the men tended to the oysters at the seaside, the women made secondary products, such as oyster sauce and dried oysters. Each harvest took 2-4 years to mature. The oyster trade resulted in prosperity for this community, so much so that it was considered the “key economic hub” in Shenzhen.
By the 1990s, however, the rapid rise of Shenzhen’s industries caused severe pollution to its environment. The oysters in Shajing started showing signs of pollution, their flesh turning into bluish green colors. The products were no longer edible. This has caused a permanent shutdown of the native oyster farming industry in Shajing. The technical know-how of oyster farming was then transferred to other suitable coastal areas, such as Taishan, Huidong and Yangjiang. The people of Shajing then became the source of expertise in the modern partnership model of technology transfer, involving the establishment of experts, production units, companies and cultures.
The area of Old Shajing is very walkable and feel free to take your time. There are many spots where you can sit down in shades as well. I managed to find some of the following worthy sites. The general area of the Shajing old market consists now of a few villages. Point your Gaode map app to “Longjin Stong Pagoda.” The closest metro station is Shajing.
The Longjin Stone Pagoda is the patron saint that presided over the east bank of the Longjin River. To the locals this pagoda was known as the “Lord of Huata.” It came into being when the Gui De Salt Field Officer Zhou Mu finished building the bridge that lied on the northeast of Shajing during the Jiading reign of the Song dynasty in 1220. The day that the bridge opened, the waters raged like a dancing dragon. Zhou Mu built this pagoda here to tame the water dragon.
The pagoda is made of sandstone. The half-body Buddha statue is a relief with one hand gestured in the shape of holding a sword.
It is said that the Weitou Old Well was a well made by the Gui De Salt Administration Office in Shajing. What is left of the Gui De Salt Administration Office is just a modern stone plaque that stands at its former site, indicating where it would have been.
Indeed, it is just around the corner from the old well. Judging from the fact that a plastic bucket lies right at the well, it is likely that the residents still draw water from it today.
The Jingle Chen’s Ancestral Hall was a structure of the Qing dynasty and it underwent reconstruction in 1985. Its layout is two halls, three bays and one courtyard. The structure is made of brick and stones. As with always, beautiful lime sculptures adorn its gable roof.
The Chen’s of Shajing was a prominent clan. They moved southward from Luoyang and settled down in this area, due to the political unrests in Northern China during the late Song dynasty. Together with the Man’s, the Chen’s started quite a few old markets in Shajing. They were key players in the thriving economy of Shajing. The Jingle Chen’s Ancestral Hall is but one of the Chen’s ancestral halls in this area.
There are many village homes standing in what used to be the Shajing Old Market. You can see the Longjin River running through the area’s pathways. Houses were built along the streaming troughs of the river. See the village views showing old houses from different eras, and enjoy the vibe there.
The Jiang Ancestral Hall lies some distance away from the Shajing Old Market. My suggestion is to take the Bus Routes 779 / M254 / M598 from the Yabiancun bus stop in Shajing and get off at the Buyong Shichang Dong bus stop, then walk a short distance over. (The map app to use in China is Gaode Maps).
The former oyster trade in Shajing is amply memorialized in the Jiang Ancestral Hall. The exterior of the walls there are lain with oyster shells and it makes a wonderful sight. The Jiang Ancestral Hall is located in Buyong, neighboring the Shajing villages. Like Shajing, the people of Buyong took up oyster farming after the salt trade declined.
The Jiang’s of Buyong had a celebrated lineage that goes back all the way to the very beginning of recorded history in China. The very first ancestors assisted the ancient Emperor Yu in his efforts to tame the floods. The Jiang ancestors would be taking up key official positions with quite a few emperors later in China’s long history. The ancestor that established this village of the Jiang’s in Buyong was Jiang Naliu, in the Ming dynasty.
The Jiang Ancestral Hall was built in the Ming dynasty. During the 1970s, its front hall had to be demolished due to a long history of disrepair. There were also six flagpole mounts outside of the entrance, but they could not be restored. In 2003, it underwent the latest renovation. A structure of brick and wood, the ancestral hall has the layout of three halls and three bays.
The beautiful architectural details at the Jiang Ancestral Hall bespeak the status of the Jiang clan. Its significance as an antique building was readily observable, standing grand, proud and firm in an otherwise modern residential area.
Descriptions on site in Shajing Old Market and the Jiang Ancestral Hall.
For the research of this entry, I consulted multiple online sources in Chinese that discussed the ancient economy of Shajing’s salt and oyster trade and the history of the Chen clan.
The Lui Seng Chun building stands testament to a century-long entrepreneurship in Hong Kong and a prominent family history. Designed by foreign architect W. H. Bourne in 1929, the beautiful structure expressed the style of the Chinese eclectic with carefully crafted and designed western elements. …
The driver suggested that we visited the Zili Village first, as that village was officially recognized, restored and developed as the preeminent location for Diaolou tourism. He told me quite a bit about himself. He is a native of Chikan. Mr. Guan is his name, …
Kaiping is a county in Guangdong Province in China that is known for its people’s long history of migration abroad. Waves of migrants made it in foreign countries and returned to Kaiping rich and glorious. These successful returnees built big houses in their villages as family residences. I was drawn to the rather funny looking structures, which are called Diaolou, when I saw introduction of the county. I decided to go.
As with always, my starting point is Hong Kong. The means of transportation that makes the most sense to this part of China is the High Speed Railway (HSR). On each day there is one arrival from Hong Kong to Kaiping. There are many alternative options, however. Multiple trains leave for Kaiping from Guangzhou, so if you are not able to get tickets direct from Hong Kong to Kaiping, consider making a transfer in Guangzhou, or maybe even Jiangmen.
Because I live close to China, I booked my ticket to depart from the Shenzhen North Station. The tip is that, if you travel on HSR from Hong Kong, the tickets can cost well over 1/3 more. Therefore if you actually live closer to China, travelling from Shenzhen North is a more economical option.
Once arriving in Kaiping, I made the quick decision to rent a car and driver for the whole afternoon. I just talked to one of those men that approach you at the train station. I paid about 280 RMB for my driver. To be fair, if I had one of those car calling apps (like Didi, Gaode Map), the cost would have been much lower. But the good thing about having someone there wait for you at the sightseeing spots is that, firstly, you can leave your heavy luggage with him in his car as you tour. You would not have that option if you called separate drivers with the apps. Secondly, you would certainly save time as well, because car calling is not always reliable, especially in locations that are not so urban.
He took me around the three primary sightseeing locations in the area. I visited Zili Village, Liyuan Garden and Majianglong Village. At around 5pm, he finally dropping me off at the Ancient City of Chikan, where I was staying for the evening.
The closest urban center to Kaiping is the City of Jiangmen. We would be spending the next day and a half there.
For more tips on travelling in China, please visit my previous entry here.
I arrived at Kaiping South Station at around 12:45pm or so. I headed over to the three locations of Zili Village, Liyuan Garden and Majianglong Village. I spent a whole afternoon there, until I arrived at the Ancient Town of Chikan at around 5pm. In the first evening in Kaiping, I toured around Chikan with my friend leisurely, and had dinner.
On the second day, we spent the morning and lunch hour in Chikan, until about 3pm when we headed over to the South Tower, which has historical significance as a Diaolou because a group of national heroes died there defending against Japanese invasion.
After the South Tower, we called a car to take us to the 33 Hui (“Hui” meaning market) in Jiangmen. We walked around a photogenic old market area known for its being the set for a TV drama. Sources describe the 33 Hui as “the origin of Jiangmen.”
On the third day, I simply took a tour searching for good food in Jiangmen, then headed home on a train in the Jiangmen Station at around 7pm.
The term “overseas Chinese” refers to the waves of Chinese migrants that left China to make a living in foreign lands. Yet, in a much broader sense, it connotes also the phenomenon of migration that had enormous historical impact in modern China.
The Chinese people that went abroad to work came from all walks of life in the (mostly coastal) communities that they originated. Surely, a whole lot of them went abroad as coolies in the 18th century. Some made a fortune as a result. Once someone in the village made a living abroad, he then would bring others in the family or the village to also work abroad. One after one, and many villagers in Guangdong made it all over the world.
Besides those that went abroad to do manual labor work, there were also those that went abroad to become educated. They were the elites in China to begin with. In fact, a luxurious Diaolou in Kaiping was built by one of the 120 school children that were sent to study in the United States in the Chinese Educational Mission program of the 19th century.
Many of the Chinese people that went abroad were nurtured in all aspects of western tradition. A lot of them were the stalwarts of the 1911 Revolution, led by Dr. Sun Yatsen.
And the Diaolou’s of Kaiping are remarkable testaments to the lives and perspectives of the overseas Chinese in China. I called them “funny looking” because they were built in the Chinese eclectic architectural style. The structures exhibited characteristics that were at once Chinese and western, but could not be “boxed” within the traditions of either. The Diaolou’s served to meet the needs of a traditional family home for the overseas Chinese returnees, but furthermore incorporated the features, appearance and utility that typified western expectations of luxurious homes.
In Kaiping, the large population of overseas Chinese returnees have resulted in innumerable appearances of these Diaolou’s. In all of Kaiping, the tall, slender Dialou’s at least three stories high have sprawled in the county’s otherwise rustic landscape. Even now, they are the very soul of Kaiping’s economy and history.
The Diaolou’s are the spirited manifestation of the sentiments that defined the identity of a whole generation of overseas Chinese. They were themselves the story. They were themselves the footprints of a historical phenomenon that has continued to this day.
Let us then walk in the footsteps of the overseas Chinese in Kaiping, and trace the lives of the sojourners that made the world their home.
Our Final Lunch in Uzbekistan at the Afsona Restaurant Afsona Restaurant is very popular in Tashkent and it is highly recommended on quite a few online platforms. We sat down for our final lunch in Uzbekistan and we were excited. But we made the wrong …
From the Minor Mosque I took the metro to arrive at the State Museum of History in Tashkent. The museum itself offers some insight into Uzbekistan’s past. If I had a choice, I might have visited this museum in Tashkent before heading off to the …
Bright and early at 6am we were back in Tashkent by train. This would be our very final day in Uzbekistan. We would be seeing some museums for this day, before we head out for our flight in the evening.
It was perhaps too early in the day, but Tashkent was already bustling with activities everywhere. We saw a lot of local life outside the train station. People were getting ready for work, and hawkers lined the street in eager display of their goods for the first business of the day.
We managed to check in our luggage at the train station, and then we made our way to a nice breakfast at a café. At 7:30am, the café was just about getting ready for the morning rush. We sat down and savored some really nice pastries, including an almond croissant, with a much-needed coffee at Boulangerie Bon! Café.
The Bon! Café is a chain and it has a prominent presence in Tashkent. We saw a couple of Bon! Cafés in this final day of touring in Tashkent.
I figured that visiting a mosque is the only thing to do in terms of sightseeing at 8am. The museums that my friend and I wanted to visit would not open until 10am.
The Minor Mosque is a new mosque in Tashkent. Construction completed in 2014 before the Eid al-Fitr holiday. It has the capacity of accommodating 2,500 prayers at once.
Known as the “White Mosque” in Tashkent, the Minor Mosque lived amply up to its name on the day of our visit. Its white marble exterior exuded an air of holiness. It stood pure, speckless and sparkly under the brilliance of the sun’s early rays. There are two minarets in the height of 38 meters. The structure consists also of two large portals, beautifully decorated with geometric patterns in blue and white, as well as Quran scripts.
An online source had this to say about the Minor Mosque, “The interior of the mosque is decorated in Naqsh style, with Quranic and other texts. Designed to hold more than 2,400 people, the mosque is divided into the open front of the terraces and a huge domed hall with a gilded mekhrob (niche indicating Mecca) decorated with Quranic texts.” (legacy.uz).
Although Uzbekistan is not considered fundamentalist, as an Islam country, the faith is well alive and practiced in Uzbekistan. The sinews of faith do bind the cultural fabric of the Muslim majority in Uzbekistan. This fact is seen when we witness the prayers at the mosques in the country.
The day was still young. There were but just a couple of prayers there at the White Mosque at 8am. We were thankful because nobody bothered with whether we could indeed enter the men’s prayer hall at that hour. We did know that women are off bounds in the men’s prayer hall, but we looked briefly inside, in the most respectful manner that we could.
The men’s prayer room lies beneath the stately dome, its grand, decorated interior commanded solemnity. I figured that it would be just as fine if I said my Christian prayers at this venue. Be it the same Christian God / Allah or not, the Minor Mosque presented a kind of serene environment that inspired a longing for spirituality.
A word must be given here about the name of the mosque. To English speakers one would associate the Minor Mosque with the size of the mosque, and naturally wonders if there is indeed a “grand mosque” or “major mosque” as its counterpart. The Minor Mosque’s name is actually a geographical reference, as this part of Central Asia was known as Asia Minor in the ancient days. The Minor Mosque is, in fact, one of the largest mosques and religious centers in Tashkent and Uzbekistan. When a religious structure has a name that refers to the name of the region, you know it is intended to be a place of significance, and by no means is it “minor” in the common understanding of the word.
Legacy.uz, The Minor Mosque.
The Tash Khauli Palace of Khiva would be the last sightseeing that we did in Khiva before we hopped on the afternoon train for Tashkent. Khiva blessed us with another gorgeous day with a bright blue sky, echoing the turquoise mosaics that would become the …