Homecoming: Grace's Ancestral Village in Fuzhou
- Grace Yeung
- Jun 14
- 7 min read
Updated: Jun 15
By: Grace Yeung, Co-Founder of From Roots to Bridges
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My Fuzhounese American Childhood
I was born in 1999 in Delaware, the second smallest state in the United States, to a family of Chinese immigrants from Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian Province. In my small town in Delaware, I was always the only Chinese person in every class in school, except for when I attended Chinese school on the weekends. Even though our parents encouraged my brother, cousins, and I to take learning Mandarin Chinese seriously, we did feel motivated to study because we did not feel proud to be Chinese and we did not have any opportunities to practice our spoken Mandarin. Rather, Fuzhounese was the primary language at home while English was spoken at school. While my Mandarin speaking skills still need work, I am proud to say that I have maintained my Fuzhounese speaking ability from childhood to now.
Not only did we have the Fuzhounese language, my brother and I were also spoiled by our grandmother’s amazing Fuzhounese cooking. Her fish balls (鱼丸 - ngyu uong) and her wonton soup (扁肉 - bieng nyuk) are still comfort foods for me. As much as I loved my grandma’s cooking, I did not bring this food to school, as I knew classmates would stare at me and make ignorant remarks. My classmates only knew Chinese food to be what my parents serve at our Chinese take out restaurant like chicken and broccoli and shrimp fried rice. My formative years were shaped by this daily contrast of speaking Fuzhounese and eating Fuzhounese food at home and speaking English and eating American food at school.
Our First Adult Trip to China
When I first met Yongjian (my partner of 4 years now), his stories about growing up in China intrigued me and made me dig deeper into my roots and family history as Chinese American.
In December 2023, our dream of visiting China together came true. It had been several years since Yongjian had been able to visit both of his grandpas and his extended family in his hometown (Jinan - 济南) so he was excited to introduce me to his family and show me around all the beautiful natural springs of Jinan, as you can see here.
For the second half of the trip, we were going to visit several cities in southern China, the most meaningful being Fuzhou - 福州. I had only been to Fuzhou once in my life, at seven years old, with my family. But at that age, all I could remember was being eaten alive by mosquitos in the unbearable humid summer heat. So this trip would be my first official trip to my family’s hometown and the mix of feelings of excitement, nervousness, and curiosity were hard to contain.
Savoring My Favorite Fuzhounese Foods
Upon arriving at the train station in Fuzhou city center, I felt my heart beating fast. But my nervousness faded once Yongjian and I met up with my family for lunch at a traditional Fuzhounese restaurant called 安泰楼酒家. Fuzhounese fare spread across the table: meat stuffed fishballs (鱼丸 — ngyu uong), oyster pancakes (蛎饼 — die biang), Fuzhounese wonton soup (扁肉 — bieng nyuk), (鼎边糊 — diang mieng ngu), and more. This was the first time I have been to a restaurant that serves the dishes that my grandma made for our family. And I could actually communicate with the chef of the restaurant in the Fuzhounese language — he was so impressed that we still kept the language, as many young people in both China and America don’t speak Fuzhounese anymore.
My Family's Ancestral Village
Besides coming to Fuzhou for all the amazing food and explore the bustling city of Fuzhou, I knew I wanted to visit my family’s home village. So from Fuzhou city center, we took a half hour car ride through the mountains to a village on the coast called Chang Bing (长柄乡). A grand, elaborately painted gate, similar to ones I had seen in Chinatowns across the US, greeted us as we entered the village.
Our first stop was my paternal grandparents’ home, as my grandparents were spending a few months in the village at this time. We were greeted by our grandparents with a big hug and upon entering, I was struck by a cold chill (no heat or A/C in this house), the cement brick walls, red and teal doors, cold white tile floors, and a big altar with my great-grandparents’ pictures above it. I was never able to meet my great-grandparents while they were alive but on this trip, I learned more about them from my family. I learned that my great-grandfather was a worker on cargo ships that sailed around the world; he even sailed to Australia! He earned more money from this job than his farmer job in Fuzhou and would send money back home to his family, as he had four children and a wife at home. At the time, China was really poor and it was really tough to survive with just a farming livelihood.
We also visited the ancestral temple (杨氏宗祠) that pays respect to our ancestors and serves as a preservation of our family’s history. The temple was built with the funds of families that went overseas to Hong Kong, Singapore, and the US, found new livelihoods, and sent money back home. It made me so proud to see such a beautiful temple honoring all the sacrifices that the many generations before me made.
What I Learned About My Family
In addition to the places we visited, we visited many family members from both sides of my family in the village. From these visits, I learned that my paternal grandma has six siblings (originally seven but one sister passed away when she was young due to a sickness). Her mother became a single mom when her husband, my grandma’s dad passed away when she was seven. What brought me nearly to tears was that my great-grandfather passed away from starvation during the Great Chinese Famine from 1959–1961. My grandma’s oldest brother, who passed away recently at 95 years old, then had to take care of all his siblings, even declining early opportunities to get married because he knew he had an obligation to care for his siblings. From learning this, I started to realize why my grandma has a scarcity mindset, why she is always anxious and scared, why she hates wasting food, and why she married my grandpa. At the time, my grandpa was from a relatively more financially stable family because of my great-grandpa sending money back from his sailor job.
At the age of 19, my grandma gave birth to my dad and a few years later, she was the first of her siblings to immigrate to Hong Kong and then the United States. My grandparents made a living in the US so that they could help their respective siblings do the same. And many years later, they are still very close to their siblings, despite many years of being physically apart from each other.
What Surprised Me About This Experience
Firstly, I was surprised at the condition of the village, that there are still people living there, and how the village is a combination of the past and present. While most of the homes are still standing and are one to two story, cement brick walled, have no heat or AC, have outdoor sinks, and were often steps away from a community farm plot that was growing a multitude of veggies and fruits, like mangos and bananas. There were a lot more farming plots but as more people immigrated and found livelihoods abroad, the farming plots were replaced with bigger, more grandiose homes for the older generation that stayed in the village or had left the village but come back for retirement. There were not a lot of people in the village but the people that were there were mostly in their 80s and 90s.
Secondly, I was surprised at how my family has preserved and passed down so much Fuzhounese culture even though they immigrated to America in the 1980s. My grandparents and parents taught my brother and I to speak Fuzhounese even though Mandarin is the predominant language in China. This came as a surprise to every relative we met in Fuzhou because even most young people living in Fuzhou don’t speak Fuzhounese anymore.
They kept the food recipes and traditions (see the homemade food we enjoyed at my grandma’s house in Fuzhou). And they kept their beliefs about collectivism, sacrifice, hard work, and suffering as an essential part of the human experience.
Lastly, I was so shocked that the city of Fuzhou is so modern and has a bustling night life! In Fuzhou, we went to Yan Tai Shan (烟台山), a historical neighborhood boasting a cluster of European-style old structures and a panoply of new businesses, including bars, cafes, and creative workshops (Source). Yan Tai Shan used to be a run down area that would get easily flooded but is now where all young people flock to get their fix for speciality drinks, live musical performances, and the perfect photo, even at night. I enjoyed seeing historical and modern elements weaved together in this neighborhood and the amount of night life and people enjoying themselves outdoors, even on a cold Sunday night!
What I Gained From This Experience
Growing up as a Chinese American, I never felt American enough at school or Chinese enough at home. I couldn’t reconcile the differences between my two worlds and I didn’t feel like I belonged anywhere. But discovering both the city and villages of Fuzhou as an adult, I understand myself a lot better because I understand my family and our history more now. I feel closer to my family because we are able to talk about these deeper topics in a way that I have never been able to before. For the first time in my life, I beam with pride when I share that I am Fuzhounese and speak the Fuzhounese language. Going forward, I have a deep desire to share Fuzhounese culture, food, and language with others too.
Join us for Homecoming Journey to China!
If you are an overseas Chinese like Yongjian and I and you want to rediscover your roots by taking a Homecoming Journey to China, check out our group travel experience offerings at fromrootstobridges.com.
Have a comment to share? Whether it’s diaspora stories or travel takeaways, we’d love to feature you! Get in touch with us at hello@fromrootstobridges.com
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