In early 2024, I was contacted by a fellow traveler who had stumbled across my blog while planning his own visit to Taishan. Glen, an American based in Japan, met up with me for lunch in Hong Kong and shared some of his own experiences recovering his family’s history in Guangzhou. It was such an inspiring afternoon that made me consider my own return visit to China next year, perhaps once I get my new visa sorted. Glen described the profound feeling of entering his ancestral home and imagining how different their lives would have been. I remember having a similar reflection during my own trip, and trying to convey that feeling back to my cousins when I was back in Vancouver, that it’s no small miracle our relatives had completely different prospects in life not that long ago. It’s especially poignant as I’ve navigated the lifestyle of an “expat” in Asia over the last decade, while my great grandparents migrated in the opposite direction (although with some similar intentions) with far different experiences.
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