A Special Historical Guided Tour of
The Village Fortress / Mansion of Kaiping in Guangdong, China
Date: November 13 - 22, 2017
Location: Jiangmen, Kaiping & Taishan, Guangdong, China
Location: Jiangmen, Kaiping & Taishan, Guangdong, China
Join Dr. Henry Yu (UBC) and Dr. Selia Tan (Wuyi University) on this special collaborative program organized by the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of British Columbia, St. John's College (UBC), and the Guangdong Qiaoxiang Research Center of Wuyi University.
You will have the opportunity to explore and experience in an accessible and fun way the latest research perspectives on the history, cultures, and geographies of Cantonese migration from the 'Szeyup' or 'Four Counties' area of Canton (Guangdong) Province, the home region of the majority of the overseas Chinese who went to Canada in the 19th and 20th Century. Unlike commercial tours or those organized by travel agencies, this special program has been organized by the top scholarly research center on Cantonese overseas migration in the world, and grows out of joint research collaborations between Wuyi University and UBC researchers such as Dr. Yu and his Chinese Canadian Stories research team.
Focused on more than the heritage architecture and buildings, Dr. Tan emphasizes what UNESCO labels the 'intangible cultural heritage' of these home villages, allowing participants to learn about daily village life and the extensive ties to overseas migrants, the stories of wives and children left behind for decades by husbands and sons, and most importantly the amazing local food! You will enjoy meals made from locally grown organic produce freshly picked from mere meters away just minutes before cooking. Learn how the 'local-vore' diet originally created by Chinese Canadian 'market garden' farmers in Vancouver and up the Fraser Valley began in the rural fields of the Pearl River delta. Best of all, learn how the villagers prepare the meals and whet your appetite for the best prepared farm fresh vegetables and greens you will ever eat. Specialties of Kaiping, such as claypot rice cooked over wood fires, impossible to replicate anywhere else, will make for a once in a lifetime experience. For participants who have pre-identified your home village in the Siyi (Szeyup) or Zhongshan region, there may be an opportunity for you to visit your home village.
Join scholars and researchers as you are taken to local markets and follow the paths that your ancestors would have taken as they went from villages and travelled overseas, as well as the routes back taken by the bones of those unfortunate to pass away while overseas.
Even if you have already visited ancestral family villages in Guangdong, this tour is not to be missed. We provide a much broader and deeper appreciation of the history and heritage of the world of the 'Cantonese Pacific' that connected these villages and migrants who went to Canada, the United States, Australia, Hawai'i, Southeast Asia, and a myriad of sites around the globe.
We welcome heritage professionals and enthusiasts, architects and amateur family historians, planners and policy makers, as well as retirees and alumni to join us! Space is limited! Register now!
You will have the opportunity to explore and experience in an accessible and fun way the latest research perspectives on the history, cultures, and geographies of Cantonese migration from the 'Szeyup' or 'Four Counties' area of Canton (Guangdong) Province, the home region of the majority of the overseas Chinese who went to Canada in the 19th and 20th Century. Unlike commercial tours or those organized by travel agencies, this special program has been organized by the top scholarly research center on Cantonese overseas migration in the world, and grows out of joint research collaborations between Wuyi University and UBC researchers such as Dr. Yu and his Chinese Canadian Stories research team.
Focused on more than the heritage architecture and buildings, Dr. Tan emphasizes what UNESCO labels the 'intangible cultural heritage' of these home villages, allowing participants to learn about daily village life and the extensive ties to overseas migrants, the stories of wives and children left behind for decades by husbands and sons, and most importantly the amazing local food! You will enjoy meals made from locally grown organic produce freshly picked from mere meters away just minutes before cooking. Learn how the 'local-vore' diet originally created by Chinese Canadian 'market garden' farmers in Vancouver and up the Fraser Valley began in the rural fields of the Pearl River delta. Best of all, learn how the villagers prepare the meals and whet your appetite for the best prepared farm fresh vegetables and greens you will ever eat. Specialties of Kaiping, such as claypot rice cooked over wood fires, impossible to replicate anywhere else, will make for a once in a lifetime experience. For participants who have pre-identified your home village in the Siyi (Szeyup) or Zhongshan region, there may be an opportunity for you to visit your home village.
Join scholars and researchers as you are taken to local markets and follow the paths that your ancestors would have taken as they went from villages and travelled overseas, as well as the routes back taken by the bones of those unfortunate to pass away while overseas.
Even if you have already visited ancestral family villages in Guangdong, this tour is not to be missed. We provide a much broader and deeper appreciation of the history and heritage of the world of the 'Cantonese Pacific' that connected these villages and migrants who went to Canada, the United States, Australia, Hawai'i, Southeast Asia, and a myriad of sites around the globe.
We welcome heritage professionals and enthusiasts, architects and amateur family historians, planners and policy makers, as well as retirees and alumni to join us! Space is limited! Register now!
