We spent two days in Cangdong, a village in Kaiping where there is a conservation and development project run by Dr. Selia Tan.
As we entered Cangdong, I heard the familiar sounds of beating drums and gongs, and saw glimpses of shiny colored fabric bouncing up and down in the distance—our arrival was greeted with lion dancing at the village gate. We quickly merged into the procession as we entered the historic part of the village, following the lion dancers and settling under a large tree as the dancers continued to perform.
Soon after, we filed into the ancestral hall for lunch. Lunch was a traditional meal prepared by villagers and was full of local food traditions from the Pearl River Delta region. Almost everyone in our group recognized something in the lunch offerings from their own family meals such as winter melon soup, rice cakes, zong | 粽, and bok choy.
It tasted so familiar.
Cangdong Village
During the 1800s, more than 2.5 million people left China’s Pearl River Delta region, creating new communities around the world, and transforming their home villages with their cultural and economic influences.
Cangdong Village is known as a qiaoxiang — a hometown for overseas Chinese. About twenty-five generations of the Xie clan lived in Cangdong since it was founded during the Yuan Dynasty (1271 CE–1368 CE). By the 19th century, it was home to over 400 villagers. People began to migrate from Cangdong to the United States and other destinations in the 1850s. Today, the village has about 50 residents. In partnership with Wuyi University (Qiaoxiang Cultural Research Center), the village established an education center to promote local heritage and highlight the role of overseas Chinese in the Pearl River Delta.
Cangdong was almost entirely abandoned before 2011 when the project was set up. Only a few people lived in the village by then, the ancestral halls were in disrepair, and the temple was gone. After completion of the conservation project, however, descendants of those who had emigrated eventually returned to pay respects to their ancestors and organized village gatherings. January 7th was established as a regular reunion date to promote family members to return to Cangdong.
Cangdong Heritage Education Center serves as a model for a more thoughtful approach to historical preservation. There was a balance between conservation and utility, and how it connects to the local way of life. It wasn’t just a place to see a historic site but each building had an active function and was part of a larger living community made of up villagers who helped cooked our communal meals, harvested crops, and showcased their artistic traditions.
It was the perfect place to prepare for our village visits.
During the rest of our time in the village, we listened to performances of traditional folk music such as Cantonese Opera and the Guqin—considered to be the oldest musical instrument in China, learned about the differences among Chinese calligraphy styles, and observed food traditions such as how rice is hulled and prepared for the harvest.
We also had the opportunity to tour restored ancestral houses that are indigenous to the Pearl River Delta region. Some houses were used as dorms for visiting students and scholars while others served as exhibition spaces. Dr. Tan explained the architectural symbolism and functionality of these houses which directly prepared us for our village visits. When I visited my paternal and maternal villages a couple of days later, I saw similar architectural features in my ancestral houses. It was comforting having these understandings of how spaces were designed and used as I stood in my ancestral homes.
In some ways, being at Cangdong Village felt like a family gathering. During certain points over the two days, we didn’t stay as one larger group but rather, everyone floated in-and-out among the buildings and outdoor spaces—eating, playing, chatting, learning, observing, and listening. ■