Dabu, Guangdong, China (大埔)

Dapu (大埔) is not only the major settlement near the ancestral birthplace of Lee Kuan Yew, it is also mine too!

My dad was so happy coming here precisely because he had the chance to find some of his father's roots.

Dapu is more like a county than a city and the whole place is predominantly farmland. It is surrounded by 18 Hakka villages tagged primarily by surname.

It is but a few minutes away from the Lee Kuan Yew Memorial Center, but there is very heavy construction going on now, with tall buildings sticking out of the mountains.

It was here that we began our search for my dad's ancestral birthplace.

Lee Kuan Yew (李光耀) Ancestral Birthplace

Visited the birthplace of Lee Kuan Yew's grandfather. The Chinese government has sanctioned the village as a heritage site to honour LKY's ancestral home for his contributions to Singapore-China relations.

It was an amazing sight to behold and once again a poignant rememberance of the man who turned Singapore from a fishing village to a global metropolis. As a Singaporean, I was filled with a lot of pride going from the visitor center to his grandfather's preserved house to the LKY memorial.

Only an hour+ ride up hilly terrain from Meizhou (梅州), we went through many villages and hillside housing which looked very backward before arriving at this rejuvenated and suddenly modern square comprising this memorial park (now a designated tourist attraction).

This is a village called Dangxi village (党溪村) which is LKY's ancestral birthplace. This is a Hakka stronghold.

Refurbishment and renovations are still being done but the old house, tourist center and memorial are complete.

The visitor center.

The original birthplace site.

Lee Kuan Yew Memorial Center 

Definitely could've done with better wax figures though!

#majulahsingapura

#nolkynosg

#没有他没有今天的新加坡

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客家之歌 - History Of Hakkas

#proudtobehakka

Today we went to see a Hakka mansion as well as the Hakka Museum of China.

The museum was truly fascinating. It was heartening to see the origins of Hakka people and the vast diaspora around the world giving back to the Hakka capital of 梅州。

One of the most famous Hakkas (aside from Lee Kuan Yew).

Meizhou, Guangdong, China (梅州)

Home of the Hakkas! #proudtobehakka

Authentic Hakka food!

The city lights are all turned on and the city is thronging with crowds of 老百姓, going about doing their everyday things like dancing, singing karaoke in public or just strolling by the river.

Funny that the impression I have always had of this area is that it is backward, undeveloped and a backwater. Who would have thought that with all the overseas Chinese money, the city of 梅州 is actually a very modern one, with a lot of Singaporean influences like clean streets, orderly traffic and sound infrastructure.

汕头 Original Street Food

Can't get more original than this!

Chaozhou, Guangdong, China (潮州)

Half a day spent here. Home of the Teochews!

The famous olden bridge.

A trishaw ride through the old part of town.