Day 352: 容

Xinhui – Yangmeicun – Xinhui, China

Armed with a piece of paper with contacts and direction in Chinese written by my dad, Christina and I embarked on the mission to go to Yangmei Village. This is where our ancestors originated from. Our surname in Indonesia is “Muda” which is an Indonesian translation of our Chinese family name 容 “Rong.” Growing up, all we knew about 容 was that it’s a rare family name. A few years ago, our uncle went on a trip to find his root in Guangdong Xinhui. He managed to locate this Yangmei Village where apparently 95% of its inhabitants are of the surname 容. Furthermore, tracing back the family tree, he successfully connected the missing link from our ancestors in China to the ones in Indonesia. Long story short, our uncle told my dad about this village and during my stop in Indonesia, my dad in turn told me about it and I thought it’d be cool to pay this place a visit. After all, I’m a 容.

Anyway, Christina is still writing the entry for today:

Morning  Dim Sum in Guangdong
It was my first time having Dim Sum at its originating place, Guangdong province. The custom involves washing chopsticks and bowl beforehand. The Dim Sum comes in small plates and they’re not at all expensive, unlike in Taiwan or Indonesia where it’s fancy cuisine. (We only paid about USD 3 per person) So… I strongly suggest Dim Sum for those who visit China.

Taking bus to Yangmei Village 洋美 (bus fee is RMB 4 per person)
Yangmei Village is full of ancient houses. In the village center, elderly gather to play mahjongs and write calligraphy.

People still using the woods for cooking. In the village, there’s also water well and people still do farming. Elys said to me “You should stay here, it’s nice place.” Elys also found it a great idea to stay in the village, granted that there’s Internet.

Upon arriving at the village, we got in touch with a contact that Elys’s dad gave her. The elder uncle welcomed us with open arms. We were treated for a big lunch together with some other elders. These folks know about our grandfather; who had come to China to study at  at university near Shanghai, and had returned back to our hometown in Medan, Indonesia. We were told that we are 32nd generation of the Rong family in China, the 5th generation in Indonesia. The elder uncle showed us the genealogy book of the Rong generations and walked us through our ancestry. We were also given two sets to bring home.

The elder uncle showed us around the village and  pointed out to us an alleyway that apparently our great great grandfather used to live in. He wasn’t sure about the exact house but pointed to what remained of a building and said that that might be the one.

To return to Xinhui, they insisted on driving us back, saving us the hassle of having to catch the public transport. On the way, we stopped by and visited the village kindergarten school. It’s fun to see these Rong kids playing around.  Cute bunch.

End note
Looking back on this trip, I find it easy to travel and find our ways in China. People around us were all eager and willing to help to guide us the way. China also has wide and clean roads. The public buses are nice as they’re air conditioned and there’s also music playing on the radio.

Thanks to Yuyu for his hospitality in Macau. It’s good to be a tourist when there’s a local guide to show all these fabulous places. The buildings and interior design in Macau are truly exclusive. Macau at night with all its lighting is incredible. It’s something that I don’t find in Taipei.

Thanks to Wailong: I cannot express how thankful we are. He brought and accompanied us all day long at the Yangmei Village. Wailong told us about life in China and suggested places for us to visit in China. It was also nice to chat with Wailong’s parents. His is a friendly family.

As for Elys: I look forward to her stories and spectacular pictures on the blog. I have a marvelous time travelling with you. So proud of you.

Love,
Christina Muda (Cencen)