As we slowly headed to the village in Panyu where my grandfather and his siblings had lived. My granduncle? (grandfather's sister's husband.. you tell me..) showed us around the village, telling us who owned what and how they are doing still.
To put it simply, there was once a GIGANTIC piece of land, then there was 8 siblings that split it equally. Since noone in the family sold anything, my whole extended family owns about 2 lanes in a village somewhere in Panyu right now. I'm a landowner!
One of the plots + house where the sole remaining family is staying.
In the land and house where our family still owns and is part of my father's (being the oldest son of the oldest son), hung the picture of our grandparents. It was the only association that I can make with that place. Without that picture, it could have been anywhere, anyplace. Only much later in the day, that i discovered that it was really a 'anywhere, anyplace'. Our family came from Anhui !!! Only the last few (maybe 10?) generations settled in Panyu.
The day we visited the ancestral village, was also my Dad's birthday. He was 63 and his first visit home.
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