Fall 2026 is sold out! Trips filling fast for Dec 2026 - Fall 2027. Book a call now!

2 Spots Left: December 14 - 22, 2026

Duration: 9 days

Tracing the Pearl River Delta:
A Cantonese Homecoming

Trace the footsteps of overseas Cantonese, Toisanese, and Kaipingese. This is a journey designed for the Chinese diaspora and anyone drawn to the rich tapestry of Lingnan culture. We begin in Guangzhou, the soul of Cantonese heritage, savoring its legendary cuisine and exploring ancestral temples, classical gardens, and centuries-old trading streets. Then, we will venture to Foshan, the cradle of Cantonese culture and martial arts, and Shunde, the gastronomic heart of Guangdong, before following the diaspora trail to Taishan and Kaiping, the regions that sent generations of Chinese immigrants to North America in the 19th and 20th centuries. There, we'll come face to face with the UNESCO-listed diaolous: fortified towers built by overseas Chinese as a promise to protect the families left behind and a testament to love that crossed oceans.

Return to the land your ancestors left behind. In community. With intention.

Reserve My Spot

Who This Experience Is For

Curious Returnee

If you're a child/grandchild/great-grandchild of immigrants, third culture kid or an adoptee who has rarely had an opportunity to go back to your motherland, this trip gives you a chance to dive deep into your ancestors' history in a way that is deeply personal.

Reflective, Community Oriented Traveler

During our trip, Grace and Yongjian will lead guided breakout sessions designed to foster emotional connection and a sense of community. We will have the opportunity to talk about our immigrant family experiences and have conversations about the conflicts we have with our identity in a safe space.

Overseas Chinese History Enthusiast

Overseas Chinese History is often reduced to the typical "coolie" narrative - overlooked in classes and stereotyped as railroad and restaurant workers. By visiting museums and villages, this trip will teach you about the wider stories that shaped the overseas Chinese experience - one of resilience, reinvention, and remarkable contributions.

Note: Itinerary may change, changes will be communicated to travelers in advance when possible.

Itinerary

In Hong Kong, visit centuries old Hakka villages in the New Territories to learn more about the Hakka people who migrated from Guangdong to Hong Kong.

In Shenzhen, enjoy the high-tech scene and premier tax-refund eligible shopping. Your time in Hong Kong and Shenzhen is highly customizable, just let us know your interests and we will create an itinerary that matches what you're looking for!
Step into Old Guangzhou, where clan halls honored your family name, city walls protected your roots, and temple prayers echoed the hopes of generations before you.

Dim Sum & Liwan District: Enjoy a classic dim sum feast, followed by a stroll through Lychee Bay Park and the Liwan Museum.

Yong Qing Fang: Wander this historic neighborhood and visit Bruce Lee's ancestral home.

Shamian Island & Beijing Road: Admire the colonial architecture, Dafo Temple, and old Guangzhou's commercial heart.

Chen Clan Ancestral Hall: Masterpieces of Cantonese wood, stone, and brick carving. A must visit site for overseas Chinese, no matter what your surname is.

Shangxiangjiu Pedestrian Street & Yuexiu Park: Lingnan architecture, Guangzhou's ancient city walls, and the Five Rams statue.
Travel with us to Foshan, the birthplace of Cantonese opera, lion dancing, and kung fu. Then, spend a day in Shunde , the Cantonese culinary capital of the world.

Watch a vibrant lion dance at Zumiao Temple, then explore Liangyuan Garden and Qiandenghu Park. Connect with locals over dinner, then wander Lingnan Tiandi's restored old town.

Walk Daliang Huagai Street for double-skin milk pudding, visit the Shunde Food Museum, then feast on Shunde-style roast goose, Chencun rice noodles, and more. Fun fact: Shunde is Bruce Lee's ancestral hometown and the chef capital of Cantonese cuisine.
Travel with us to Kaiping and Taishan, the heartland of overseas Chinese migration to North America since the 19th century.

Jiangmen Overseas Chinese Museum: Learn about overseas migration from Kaiping, Taishan, and the broader Wuyi region.

Cangdong Village: Enjoy a farm-to-table meal where you can optionally choose to learn how to make your own clay pot rice! Then, explore the Cangdong Heritage Education Center, a joint heritage preservation initiative by Wuyi University and Stanford University.

Kaiping Diaolou: Explore Zili Village and Li Garden, home to UNESCO-listed fortified towers built by wealthy overseas Chinese.

Family Diaolou Tour: Meet a fourth-generation descendant of a Chinese Cuban American immigrant for an exclusive tour of his grandpa's diaolou museum.

Haikou Village: Visit the iconic site where millions of overseas Chinese began their journeys abroad. Explore villages, schools, and mansions built by the diaspora.

Dinner in a Restored Schoolhouse: Savor Taishan yellow eel claypot rice and more at a restaurant housed in a school donated by overseas Chinese.
And that's a wrap! After brunch, take a train from Taishan back to Guangzhou. Need to get to Hong Kong? Let us know, we can help you get to Hong Kong!

Highlights

Track Down Your Ancestral Village

Take a road trip drive to historic overseas Chinese villages and attempt to locate your family's ancestral village and temple.

Clay Pot Rice Cooking Class

In Kaiping, try your hand at making your own

clay pot rice (no prior experience required!)

Meet a Taishanese Professor

Meet a 4th-generation descendant of a Chinese Cuban American immigrant and tour

his family's diaolou museum.

Grace & Yongjian will accompany you on entire experience (except to/from airport and during free time). Together, we are fluent in English, Mandarin, and Spanish. Working proficiency in Cantonese. Whenever necessary, we will have local guides and drivers accompanying us as well.
We believe where you stay matters as much as where you go. That's why we've curated Cantonese-themed accommodations, from a Lingnan-design hotel in Guangzhou to a UNESCO-adjacent Diaolou in Kaiping. Clean, comfortable, and deeply rooted in heritage.
You'd be a perfect fit for this trip if you're a foodie who looks for that perfect wok hei, those delicate har gow dumplings, and a clay pot rice with the crispy bottom.

On this trip, we're chasing those flavors at their source. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be covered for the entire trip, unless stated otherwise in the itinerary.

If you have any dietary restrictions or food allergies, please inform us in advance of the trip so we can make this trip enjoyable and safe for you.
In this virtual pre-departure orientation, we will cover essential apps (payment, maps, VPNs, eSIMs) and practical on the ground tips that will help you navigate China like a local.

It's also an opportunity to get to know your fellow travelers and ask us any questions!
For any sites or workshops mentioned in the itinerary that require an entrance ticket, the cost of the ticket for each traveler will be covered. Tickets are non-transferable and non-refundable.
Included: All overland transportation throughout the trip—high-speed trains, buses, rideshares, and a private, air-conditioned van for our road journey. Metro rides within cities are also covered.

Not Included: Transportation during free time, travel to the trip's starting point, or onward travel after the final day.
To remember your trip, you will receive a From Roots to Bridges themed goodie bag! Inform us of your t-shirt size prior to the trip.

What Is Included

I'm Interested! What's Next?

Submit Deposit

Secure your spot via WeTravel. At the time of booking, you will submit a deposit to hold your spot. The deposit counts towards your total payment. If you cancel your spot, we are unable to refund your deposit. If the trip doesn't run due to a lack of participants, you will receive your deposit back.

Reserve My Spot!

Submit Full Payment

Full payment will be requested 90 days prior to departure. If you’re booking within 90 days of your departure, you will be asked to make the full payment immediately. Payments are made on WeTravel.

Attend Pre-Departure Orientation

30 days prior to departure, we will host a virtual pre-departure orientation where you will view the full detailed itinerary, healthy and safety measures, what to pack, what apps to download, and any other details that will help you feel prepared for the experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you would like to join this experience but with a shorter length, email us at hello@fromrootstobridges.com and we will consider that for a future iteration of this experience if there are enough interested travelers to fill a group.

Otherwise, if you decide to join an experience late or leave early, whether planned or unplanned, you will still be responsible for the full cost of the experience.

To avoid unexpected expenses from early departures, we strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance that includes trip interruption coverage
This group experience is designed for adults, 18 years and older.

If you have minors who would like to join an experience like this, we can arrange a private experience specifically for your family.

Please note that each minor requires at least one adult 21+ years old to accompany them.
Certainly! Please book a call with us and share details regarding where your family is from so we can plan to add your family's ancestral hometown to the itinerary.
Absolutely! While our journeys are designed for the overseas Chinese diaspora reconnecting with their heritage, we warmly welcome travelers with other meaningful ties to the region—whether through family, partners, friendships, or a deep interest in its culture, history, or language.

We simply ask that you join with respect for the diasporic voices at the heart of these experiences. Your curiosity and perspective can enrich the group’s dynamic, as long as you listen actively and engage thoughtfully.
Yes, we generally advise our travelers coming to China to get a Chinese tourist visa in your country of residency. If you have confirmed that your trip to China can be done under the 10 or 30 day visa free policy, then you do not need to apply for a Chinese tourist visa.

Visa-Free Entry Policies

30-Day Visa-Free Access: Citizens of Canada, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Malaysia, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Australia, Poland, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Slovenia, Slovakia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein, Republic of Korea, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia, Japan and Negara Brunei Darussalam) can visit China visa-free for up to 30 days under mutual agreements.

Note: Policies may change—always verify with this official webpage before travel.

From Roots to Bridges will not accept responsibility if you are refused entry to China because you lack the correct visa documentation.
By Air: Hong Kong International Airport or Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. Both airports have many international flights arriving daily.

By High-Speed Train: Hong Kong is served by one high-speed rail station (West Kowloon Station) that goes to Guangzhou South Station.

By High-Speed Train: Guangzhou is served by four high-speed rail stations (South, East, North, and Main Station) with daily trains from Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and other cities.
Prior to entering China, you should download WeChat (communication and payments) and AliPay (payments and more).

If you need to use Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, or Google Apps during the trip, download a VPN.

Refer to our China Apps guide to see which other apps are required and recommended.
Prior to your trip to China, we recommend you to buy a 3HK E-SIM.

If you would prefer to get a physical SIM card, we will bring you to a physical store in China to get a SIM card.
Please refer to these CDC Guidelines for what vaccines to get prior to traveling to China.

Please refer to our Cancellation Policy Page
We understand that medical emergencies may cause you to not be able to attend this trip or cut the trip short.

Therefore, we require our travelers to buy travel insurance with trip cancellation before the trip begins to cover unforeseen cancellations.

What Our Travelers Say

Beverly 🇺🇸🇨🇳

Grace and Yongjian went above and beyond in this Homecoming Guangdong trip. From the initial calls where they got to know my background and goals for the trip, to creating a schedule that explored many places in the entire province. They were able to find my family's ancestral temple and people associated to my family that I did not know, incredibly and unexpectedly. From tourist sites to off the tourist path, we saw the range of offerings. I loved meeting local people so I can continue to practice Chinese and learn about everyday Chinese life. They are also amazing company to be around on this extensive trip. Thank you both for a life changing trip through China for the first time.

Aline 🇫🇷

Although I had already spent a month traveling in China before joining Grace and Yongjian, the road trip I took with them to Kaiping and Jiangmen was unforgettable. Traveling in China without speaking Mandarin can be challenging and exhausting. But with Grace and Yongjian, everything went smoothly as we explored remote villages, interacted with locals, and enjoyed authentic Cantonese dishes. Their deep knowledge of Chinese history and culture made the experience enriching, relaxing, and well-organized, yet flexible. Above all, Grace and Yongjian are incredibly passionate and enthusiastic about what they do. Their energy and love for sharing their culture made the whole experience so special.

Max & Nikki 🇩🇪

We had traveled to China independently before. This time, we wanted to delve deeper and get to know aspects of the country that remained closed to us as solo travelers without a Chinese driver's license and language skills. Grace and Yongjian organized a road trip to the less touristy province of Guizhou. They took us to remote villages, hidden viewpoints and neighborhood restaurants that we would never have reached on our own. The trip was characterized by their enthusiasm for the country, its people and food, as well as the very personal stories and experiences they shared. It was like a road trip with friends; except we didn't have to take care of anything ourselves.

Jurrien & Sandra 🇳🇱

Together with Grace and Yongjian, we travelled for almost 2 weeks through the province of Yunnan. Having never been to China, we felt a bit overwhelmed with the required preparations for this huge country. Even before we crossed the border from Vietnam to China, they prepared us in every possible way. From how to use Alipay and WeChat, to buying SIM Cards and setting up a VPN. Their knowledge about the area was astounding. Especially on the topics on (local) cuisine and culture, they introduced us to so much we didn't know. The itinerary chosen, suited well with our interests and the execution went very well.

Sebastien 🇪🇸

China wasn’t on my travel list until Yongjian and Grace's captivating passion and deep knowledge opened my eyes to its wonders. Their guidance was essential in securing a SIM card, managing payments, booking trains and ordering food. This allowed me to fully embrace Yunnan’s rich diversity, from vibrant markets and museums to stunning landscapes and historical sites. The region’s varied ethnic groups and incredible cuisine enriched every moment. This trip not only left me with precious memories and a new perspective on travel and China but also the gift of friendship with two remarkable people I now call friends.

Angela & Yang 🇩🇪

During our trip to China, especially in Fuzhou, Grace and Yongjian made our experience truly unforgettable. Although we have visited China several times before and speak the language (more or less), it can still be challenging to navigate the country, as everything changes so quickly. What made the journey even more special were the fascinating stories they shared about their own trips and the history and culture of the region. Touring with Grace and Yongjian was an absolute pleasure, and I would highly recommend their services to anyone, who want an effortless and memorable trip!

Matt 🇺🇸

I've lived in mainland China for over seven years and I was thrilled to join Yongjian and Grace for my first visit to Fujian Province. Together the three of us made stops at the historic district of the Three Lanes and Seven Alleys, Xichan Temple, and the Overseas Chinese Museum. It was a pleasure touring Fuzhou with Yongjian and Grace, who were kind enough to introduce local delicacies and locate vegetarian restaurants to accommodate my dietary restrictions. I would wholeheartedly recommend booking a tour with Yongjian and Grace--you will not be disappointed!

Ted (Aug '24) 🇺🇸

I had a wonderful time traveling with Yongjian and Grace. They created a comprehensive itinerary with unique, hard-to-find experiences while remaining flexible and open throughout the trip. Their approach to travel planning reflects their commitment to cultural authenticity and meaningful engagement

with the communities they visit.

I would definitely go on another trip with them!

Our Travel Philosophy

We started traveling around China in 2023 with a desire to reconnect with our ancestral homeland. From then to now, we have traveled to half of China's provinces & regions. In the process, we realized that the beauty, history, and cultural diversity of China goes well beyond the typical path that tourists take. We want to show you the real China, from the cities to the villages. We want to help you navigate all the complexities that come with traveling around China and foster an environment that allows you to connect on a deeper level with Chinese culture, people, language, and food.

Helpful Resources

How to Apply for a Chinese Visa
[for Americans]

The first step to traveling to China is applying for a Chinese visa. We know that paperwork can be daunting and want to streamline the process for you in our step-by-step guide!

Buy Now

Our Recommended
Travel Packing List

Heading on a domestic or international trip soon? We have a packing list that you can use to make sure you have packed every essential for your next trip!

Buy Now