Note: The following is narrated in the first person by overseas Chinese Su Jinyuan.
Hello everyone, I'm Jinyuan from Licha Village, Huilong Town, Zhaoqing. Back in 1977, villagers here ventured to Chile, and now over a thousand locals live there.
I flew to Chile alone, aged 21, in 1997. I followed my uncle and trained as an apprentice chef for six years, and worked as a cook for three years. After getting married back home in 2004, my wife and I ran a Cantonese restaurant in La Serena.
Well-suited to Chileans' preference for light, mildly seasoned food, our Cantonese dishes helped the business expand steadily, and our dishes soon won over half the neighborhood. Our signature Cantonese dishes were a hit with local diners.
My two children were born in Chile—the elder one is 18, the younger one is 14. They speak little hometown dialect and mainly use Spanish, yet we still eat Chinese food at home. We travel back to Zhaoqing once every year or two for traditional festivals like the Chinese New Year and Qingming, and have bought an apartment there. Unlike some overseas Chinese families, Cantonese families tend to emigrate as a whole household. Fellow Gaoyao natives stay connected mainly through WeChat groups, gathering for barbecues during Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Chile's national day.
Because the seasons are opposite in the southern hemisphere, many young people live like migratory birds, spending half the year in Chile and half in Guangdong, China. Most choose to return to China for medical care and retirement. Many older immigrants prefer Chile's mild Mediterranean climate.
Chinese cuisine gained fame in Chile after a journalist happened to meet a Chinese immigrant, tasted a dish cooked on the spot, and raved about it in the newspaper. From then on, Chinese food became known as a luxury only the wealthy could afford. Chile was the first South American country to establish diplomatic relations with China. Iquique's duty-free zone saw some of the earliest Chinese footprints in the country.
My 14-year-old daughter is amazed by how advanced and impressive China has become, especially its high-speed rail system. She willingly endures over 30 hours of flying to visit China, learning Chinese from her grandpa and teaching him Spanish in return. She dreams of working across China, Australia, and Chile, and we fully back her choice.
We haven't left our hometown behind. We carry hometown tastes and traditions overseas. Huilong is our root, Chile our second home, and Chinese cuisine is our love letter to the world.
Reporter: Wang Junxin
Text: Tong Hua
Revised by Huang Qini
