China Travel
- Thread starter SteelBird
- Start date
Hi guys, I’m back home. So, it’s time to write a report about my trip to China.
1. Purposes of the trip
2. Preparation
- My main purpose is to find the hometown of my grandfather who migrated to Cambodia about a century ago.
- Beyond of that, my secondary purpose is to visit Beijing. If one hasn’t been to Beijing, he’s not considered as being to China.
3. It’s time to travel
- How to find the hometown: All my grandparents and parents have pass away. The only clue I have is the address on their tombstone. But the address carved on the tomb stone are addresses of a century ago and were written based on memories of my father. They might not be correct or have been changed. To compare ancient and current address, I have talked to my Chinese friends, searching on the web and using DeepSeek, talking to you guys on this forum. The final answer which I’ve got before departure is: 惠州市新圩鎮 (Huizhou city, Xinxu town).
- Money: No money, no go. You might have heard that cash is not popular in China. Instead, people use WeChat and Alipay for payments. WeChat has even more functions for all types of pre-booking. So, I download both WeChat and Alipay on my phone, activate and charge it. I even get some cash to prevent case that phone doesn’t work.
- SIM card: Google, Facebook… aren’t accessible in China. To access those websites, you’d need to climb the wall. I bought a roaming data SIM card in Cambodia. All gates are open, so, no wall-climber needed. But data SIM card doesn’t call. I will need to buy another SIM card for phone call upon arrival at the Chinese airport.
- Accommodation in China: It’s time of Canton Fair, so hotels are extremely expensive and full. Via friend’s recommendation, I book a small apartment room in 市二宫area. Very cheap but the size was just about a van’s size.
I took a flight to Guangzhou Baiyun airport on April 15 and arrive there on the same day at around 4pm. Took a metro to the accommodation and had a diner with a friend that evening. My friend didn’t think that I could find my grandfather’s hometown because I had too few information about it. However, she told me how to get there.
4. The way to my grandfather’s hometown
In the early morning of April 16, took the metro to Guangzhou South Railway Station, and then took a HSR to Huizhou. I arrived at Huizhou railway station at around 8am. This is a completely alien area to me. No friend, no guide, everything is on my own.
I tried to take a bus to Xinxu town (新圩鎮) but could not wait for the right bus, so I turned to a taxi. The driver was rather friendly, he was a father of three from Jiangxi. I told him about my purpose, and he suggested me to go directly to Yuechang village (约场村) because the village is still there. So, we went to the village committee of Yuechang asking for information. People there were, again, so friendly. After listening to my story and seeing the photos of the tombstones. They suggested that the place I was looking for was no longer in Yuechang village because the premise of Yuechang village had been changed compared to the old one. The place Shiwu township (石屋围) should be in the current Hongwei village (红卫村).
We once again came to Hongwei village committee. Here we met a young guy. He served me with nice tea and told me that the reason my friends and I could not locate the area on the web is that we didn’t speak Hakha. We read the tombstone in Mandarin. The correct location should be 榄树坑(on the tombstone was 榄水臼) 石屋围. He said there is a Xiao clan ancestor hall (萧氏宗) in Shiwu group, then he called the chairman of the Xiao clan association. Here I finally found my grandfather’s hometown and the ancestor hall of my clan. Standing in front of the ancestor hall, I was so agitated and speak in my mind “Ancestors, I’m back!”.
Thank you for sharing. Great to see 炎黄子孙 trace and connect with their ancestral roots. Definitely something to aim for in future generations!
汉朝丞相府，梁日帝皇家
So your Xiao clan believes that their bloodline trace back to
Xiao He, the prime minister of Han Dynasty
Imperial Xiao family of Liang Dynasty
Hence it should also includes about 10 chancellor of Tang
Lets say, culturally all Xiao clans made such claims
Technically the royalty from the Southern Qi Dynasty are related to the ones from Southern Liang. So @SteelBird can claim two imperial lineages.
SteelBird
Colonel
Whether my ancestors were from a royal family, a high rank official or a normal herd man makes no different to me. I simply just want to find back my ancestors' hometown, and that's all!
I didn't expect I could find the place at all. As my friends suggested, I had too little information and part of the address on the tombstone points to nowhere. It seems to be mission impossible, but it could be completed so smoothly.
5. Military encounter
After finish visiting Huiyang, my next stop would be Beijing. It doesn't make sense to go back to Guangzhou and then fly to Beijing. So, I book a flight from Huiyang's Pingtan airport. I didn't know anything about this airport. On the road leading to the airport, I saw a sign that reads "Strickly control area". What's the heck is that?!! Before we turned into the airport, I saw an early warning aircraft over the fence. It has a disc-shape radar on its back; however, I couldn't identify its model.
After getting into the departure lounge, I learnt that it was a dual use airport. I was excited and expect to see some military hardware, but I was disappointed that all windows were covered by opaque stickers. I could hear military aircraft taking off rather often, and through the highest windows that weren't covered, I could see at least 3 J-16 taking off leading by an early warning aircraft. Even when we got into our airplane, all airplane's windows are required to be closed until we left their airspace. A stewardess told us not to open the windows, and if we do so, we may face criminal charges. Sic! what's a secretive airbase!!!
Maybe Deino can tell us what are deployed at that airbase.
I didn't expect I could find the place at all. As my friends suggested, I had too little information and part of the address on the tombstone points to nowhere. It seems to be mission impossible, but it could be completed so smoothly.
5. Military encounter
After finish visiting Huiyang, my next stop would be Beijing. It doesn't make sense to go back to Guangzhou and then fly to Beijing. So, I book a flight from Huiyang's Pingtan airport. I didn't know anything about this airport. On the road leading to the airport, I saw a sign that reads "Strickly control area". What's the heck is that?!! Before we turned into the airport, I saw an early warning aircraft over the fence. It has a disc-shape radar on its back; however, I couldn't identify its model.
After getting into the departure lounge, I learnt that it was a dual use airport. I was excited and expect to see some military hardware, but I was disappointed that all windows were covered by opaque stickers. I could hear military aircraft taking off rather often, and through the highest windows that weren't covered, I could see at least 3 J-16 taking off leading by an early warning aircraft. Even when we got into our airplane, all airplane's windows are required to be closed until we left their airspace. A stewardess told us not to open the windows, and if we do so, we may face criminal charges. Sic! what's a secretive airbase!!!
Maybe Deino can tell us what are deployed at that airbase.
KJ-500
SteelBird
Colonel
6. Beijing
After leaving airspace of Pingtan airport, windows are allowed to be opened again. I arrived at Beijing Daxing airport at about midnight after a short stopping at Wuhu airport. Before leaving for Beijing, I have booked a one-day tour to Badaling Greatwall, and the meeting point is at Beitucheng metro station C exit. Trains and metros start working at 6am, so, there's about 6 hours to go. I had nothing to do at the airport, just wandering around, sit down, standup, walked fort and back. Some people just lied down on the bench and slept. I couldn't do the same. There are sleeping box at the airport costing 60rmb per hour, but it was all full. What frustrated me the most is my Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra ran out of battery quickly when there's no wifi and running mobile data. Charging point is not always available at public, and I don't have a power bank.
At six 6am, I took the Daxing airport express train to Cao Qiao metro station. I think this train is something in the middle of high-speed train and metro. It has an open style cabin where there's driver sitting in the middle and a captain standing beside the driver pointing here and there. There's one business class and multiple economy class wagons. Business class cost 50rmb while economy class costs 35rmb. Behind the glass, I took a photo of the cabin. No sure if photo is allowed that I didn't dare to stand up taking photos.
@SanWenYu, Sorry guy, I didn't have time to drop by Gutangao as my driver said it was some 30km away from us and to a different direction. Time didn't allow me to go there.
After leaving airspace of Pingtan airport, windows are allowed to be opened again. I arrived at Beijing Daxing airport at about midnight after a short stopping at Wuhu airport. Before leaving for Beijing, I have booked a one-day tour to Badaling Greatwall, and the meeting point is at Beitucheng metro station C exit. Trains and metros start working at 6am, so, there's about 6 hours to go. I had nothing to do at the airport, just wandering around, sit down, standup, walked fort and back. Some people just lied down on the bench and slept. I couldn't do the same. There are sleeping box at the airport costing 60rmb per hour, but it was all full. What frustrated me the most is my Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra ran out of battery quickly when there's no wifi and running mobile data. Charging point is not always available at public, and I don't have a power bank.
At six 6am, I took the Daxing airport express train to Cao Qiao metro station. I think this train is something in the middle of high-speed train and metro. It has an open style cabin where there's driver sitting in the middle and a captain standing beside the driver pointing here and there. There's one business class and multiple economy class wagons. Business class cost 50rmb while economy class costs 35rmb. Behind the glass, I took a photo of the cabin. No sure if photo is allowed that I didn't dare to stand up taking photos.
@SanWenYu, Sorry guy, I didn't have time to drop by Gutangao as my driver said it was some 30km away from us and to a different direction. Time didn't allow me to go there.
Last edited:
SteelBird
Colonel
...continue
I arrived at Beitucheng (北土城) metro station C exit, the meeting point for Badaling Greatwall's one-day tour, a bit early. Meeting time was 10am. So, I walked around and find a place for breakfast. I found that behind the metro station was a large bus station with route number 887 being the bus for Badaling. Opposite the road was a large theme garden filled with begonia (海棠花). Behind the garden was a residential area where I had my breakfast.
The meeting point for Badaling Greatwall
Road in front of Beitucheng metro station
A tradition style building, part of the garden
Path inside the garden
Flowers blossom inside the garden.
I arrived at Beitucheng (北土城) metro station C exit, the meeting point for Badaling Greatwall's one-day tour, a bit early. Meeting time was 10am. So, I walked around and find a place for breakfast. I found that behind the metro station was a large bus station with route number 887 being the bus for Badaling. Opposite the road was a large theme garden filled with begonia (海棠花). Behind the garden was a residential area where I had my breakfast.
The meeting point for Badaling Greatwall
Road in front of Beitucheng metro station
A tradition style building, part of the garden
Path inside the garden
Flowers blossom inside the garden.
SteelBird
Colonel
7. Badaling Greatwall.
We departed for Badaling Greatwall at 10am. I took a video on the way to Badaling so that you can make a comparison if visited the Greatwall some 10 or 20 years ago. I saw some part of the Greatwall on the way to Badaling, but I was not sure if those were real Greatwall or people build it to make things like theme restaurant.
Arriving at Badaling Greatwall, I found something for lunch first as the one-day tour didn't include any meal. Took an extremely long queue to the cable car up to the Greatwall. The cable car costed me 140rmb. I could choose to climb the Greatwall myself; however, I'd like to save my energy for other climbing, so took it.
Badaling Greatwall was built in Ming dynasty and remains rather intact until today. As introduced by the guide, from the point we get off the cable car, to the north, there were 8 towers and 12 towers to the south. I was not going to climb all towers; I just climbed the highest one to see all surrounding mountains small (一览众山小).
We departed for Badaling Greatwall at 10am. I took a video on the way to Badaling so that you can make a comparison if visited the Greatwall some 10 or 20 years ago. I saw some part of the Greatwall on the way to Badaling, but I was not sure if those were real Greatwall or people build it to make things like theme restaurant.
Arriving at Badaling Greatwall, I found something for lunch first as the one-day tour didn't include any meal. Took an extremely long queue to the cable car up to the Greatwall. The cable car costed me 140rmb. I could choose to climb the Greatwall myself; however, I'd like to save my energy for other climbing, so took it.
Badaling Greatwall was built in Ming dynasty and remains rather intact until today. As introduced by the guide, from the point we get off the cable car, to the north, there were 8 towers and 12 towers to the south. I was not going to climb all towers; I just climbed the highest one to see all surrounding mountains small (一览众山小).
SteelBird
Colonel
8. Yiheyuan and Summer palace
I failed to book a ticket for the Old Palace and Tianmen Square. Yeah, tickets for Old Palace and Tianmen Square entrance need prebooking. Especially, Old Palace need one-week prebooking in advance, and I still failed to get an entrance ticket. People advised me to go to metro station near the old palace to buy a ticket from those Yellow Ox (黄牛), the term for those people who buy tickets for resale. I turned my destinations to Yiheyuan and Summer palace where tickets can be booked and buy on site easier. Something strange, when I mentioned Summer Palace (夏宫), people seem not understand what I was talking about. They only know it as Yuanmingyuan (圆明园).
Yiheyuan is large garden with a large lake in the center. In the lake, the first time I see real life mandarin ducks (鸳鸯).
Along the lake, I walked deep until a "palace" called 排雲門, that's a building built on a hill. It required a ticket to enter. I don't have time because I need to move on to Summer Palace. So, I leave it here.
Summer palace located some 10 minutes' drive from Yiheyuan. Walking in Summer palace, I was rushed because I was already rather tired and need to get back to hotel to checked out before noon. So, I just took some photos and went straight out. It was raining lightly, and temperature dropped to about 10°C. I didn't have raincoat or umbrella, nor did I have any winter coat.
I failed to book a ticket for the Old Palace and Tianmen Square. Yeah, tickets for Old Palace and Tianmen Square entrance need prebooking. Especially, Old Palace need one-week prebooking in advance, and I still failed to get an entrance ticket. People advised me to go to metro station near the old palace to buy a ticket from those Yellow Ox (黄牛), the term for those people who buy tickets for resale. I turned my destinations to Yiheyuan and Summer palace where tickets can be booked and buy on site easier. Something strange, when I mentioned Summer Palace (夏宫), people seem not understand what I was talking about. They only know it as Yuanmingyuan (圆明园).
Yiheyuan is large garden with a large lake in the center. In the lake, the first time I see real life mandarin ducks (鸳鸯).
Along the lake, I walked deep until a "palace" called 排雲門, that's a building built on a hill. It required a ticket to enter. I don't have time because I need to move on to Summer Palace. So, I leave it here.
Summer palace located some 10 minutes' drive from Yiheyuan. Walking in Summer palace, I was rushed because I was already rather tired and need to get back to hotel to checked out before noon. So, I just took some photos and went straight out. It was raining lightly, and temperature dropped to about 10°C. I didn't have raincoat or umbrella, nor did I have any winter coat.