Living History: Visiting My Ancestral Hometown

“Welcome home,” said Professor Chen Yu as she greeted me at the Fuzhou Changle international airport.

“Home?” I thought. It was my third visit to China, but I certainly had never been to Fuqing, in Fujian, the southern province of China.

For many overseas Chinese, China is what Ien Ang calls a “mythic homeland” – a place that is simultaneously real and imagined. Most have never been to China, yet their ethnicity and cultural ties bind them towards this country.

Me on on the ancient stone Long River bridge that dates back to the Song dynasty. This bridge was built over the river that flows into the Taiwan Strait at Haikou.

For me, a scholar on Chinese-Indonesians, I did not visit Fuqing specifically because I was planning to visit the city of my grandfather’s birth.

I was at Fuqing by invitation of Fujian Polytechnic Normal University to present a paper on Indonesia-China Cultural Relations at the 2024 China-Indonesia Forum on the Development of People-to-people and Cultural Exchanges.

I was also asked to deliver a lecture at the university on Chinese Organizations: A Historical Overview. My paper on Chinese organizations had been recently published by the university’s academic journal, so it was only apt to present on the paper for my lecture.

Professor Chen Yu chatted with me in a mix of Chinese and English during the one-hour car ride to Rongqiao hotel in Fuqing. “Rongqiao hotel is one of the best hotels in Fuqing,” she enthused. “I think you will be very comfortable there.”

For someone who is used to Western chain hotels such as the Hyatt, St. Regis or Ritz-Carlton, I wondered about the level of service and facilities at Rongqiao hotel. When our car pulled up to the hotel’s entrance, I was greeted by no less than three managers of the hotel – one of them being the General Manager of the establishment.

Rongqiao Hotel lobby

“Welcome to Fuqing – your home!” said the three managers. They took me to my room – a spacious suite with a large marble dining table, living room, a separate bedroom area with a walk-in closet and a beautiful marble bathroom with a sunken bathtub. They drew the curtains open and I was able to take in the breathtaking sight of Fuqing – with its river, rolling mountains and the majestic Fu pavilion perched on top of Mount Wuma.

When the managers asked me what I wanted to do in Fuqing other than presenting my papers at the conference and university, I immediately told them that I wanted to visit the Liem Sioe Liong memorial.

Liem Sioe Liong, one of the most influential Chinese-Indonesian entrepreneurs who ever lived, moved to Indonesia from Fuqing in 1938 as a penniless migrant. I was particularly interested in visiting the memorial as I was told that my father, Didi Dawis, was also featured there as one of the leaders of Fuqing World Association and his contributions to Fuqing. I also wanted to visit Limei village – where my grandfather was born.

The managers also promised to take me to ‘lao jia’ – my ancestral home. They knew exactly where it was. One of the managers, Ms. Wu, even contacted her brother-in-law who lives in that area so I could meet some of my distant relatives and visit the ‘Yu’ clan temple. ‘Yu’ is my Chinese surname. It is an uncommon one because it is a surname that originates from Fuqing and it is rarely found in other parts of China.

When I arrived at the memorial, I was struck by the modern and sleek architecture. A beautiful, well-manicured garden greeted visitors before they walked up the steps towards an ornate entrance. Within the lobby, an enormous statue of Liem Sioe Liong took up the center part and I was led on a journey of ‘Om Liem’ (‘Uncle Liem,’ as he was referred to in Indonesia), starting from his humble background to his colossal fortune in manufacturing, real estate, and food industry among others. His Indonesian offices were reconstructed in Fuqing exactly as they were displayed – down to the large grandfather clock and books in the shelves.

I found my father in the section about how the overseas Chinese contributed to the modernization of Fuqing. Along with Om Liem and other overseas Chinese, I learned that he was one of the founders of Rongqiao Foundation. “No wonder the managers were so friendly to me,” I thought. Rongqiao hotel is one of the many properties owned by the group.

My father's entry in the Liem Sioe Liong Memorial

I had always known that my father was one of the first leaders of the Fuqing Jakarta association, but seeing his picture with Om Liem displayed in such a significant memorial filled me with immense pride.  My father’s feature also mentions that he contributed freshwater supply to my grandfather’s village and even built two schools there – one a primary school, the other a secondary school.

My father contributed this primary school to Limei Village

After taking ample pictures at the memorial, I was eager to visit Limei village. When I finally arrived, I was grateful to see that the home where my grandfather grew up in was still intact. Although there was nothing in the house other than an altar with pictures of my ancestors, I could imagine my grandfather running around the backyard when he was a little boy and the wonder on my father’s face when he first visited my grandfather’s home back in the 1980s.

My grandfather grew up in this house

As I was exploring my ancestral home, a lady in her seventies came to me and said that she was my distant relative. She also told me that she met my father when they visited Limei more than two decades ago. A pair of husband and wife came up to me shortly after, saying that they were also my relatives. They took me to their homes and shop, showing me the neighborhood with pride and fondness. They seemed genuinely happy to welcome me into their midst.

My three relatives took me to the ‘Yu’ clan temple – a temple built not for religious reasons but for the ‘Yu’ clan members to gather and honor their ancestors. There, I met some other ‘Yu’ men and women, who took me to a room whose walls were lined with pictures of prominent overseas Chinese. I was delighted to see pictures of both my grandfather and father on one of the walls, although, regretfully, I could not read the accompanying Chinese characters.

One of the ‘Yu’ clan members told me that the temple was used as a school before my father donated the two schools to the village. He remembered going to school there as a child and expressed his gratitude to my father because the schools help to educate not only future generations of the ‘Yu’ clan but other neighboring communities.

When I finally saw the two schools, I appreciated the fact that they are very well-maintained and spacious. There are fields for the children to play in and many classrooms where they can learn from their teachers and interact with fellow students. Unfortunately, I could not meet any of the students and teachers because it was a Sunday. However, I could imagine the liveliness of the schools when they are in session.

On the day following my visit to Limei village, I met with the Fujian Polytechnic Normal University’s president and officials. The university’s president mentioned that there were some benefactors, such as Lin Lianxin, who had contributed buildings and other forms of donations to help the university. I was also reminded that the overseas Chinese have helped Fuqing to transform from a poor town with crumbling economy to a modern and wealthy city.

Indeed, on my final evening before I flew back to Jakarta, I walked around modern Fuqing and cherished its beauty. I loved Ruiyun pagoda, Liqiao Ancient Street, the Longjiang river and the many bridges the city had built for pedestrians and the outdoor shopping areas. As Fuqing is located on the southern part of China, the air was crisp and cool in late November. The leaves on the city’s verdant trees were also lush and green.

The beautiful Ruiyun pagoda

As I bid the city farewell, I thought, “Thank you, beautiful Fuqing, for welcoming your daughter back to her ancestral hometown. You made history come alive for me. China is no longer a mythic homeland to me.”