"I'm Dan Dan, from Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, and I'm opening a Zhanjiang-style seafood restaurant in Sydney, Australia."
"I am Xiao Wu, from Jiangmen, Guangdong Province, living in Oviedo, northern Spain, running a small department store."
"After teaching in Singapore for so many years, my yearning and love for Shantou has never changed."
"No matter where I am, I always have good memories of my hometown."
……
On Nov. 21, the second season of "Back to Guangdong - Snap a Ticket to Guangdong" was opened for overseas Chinese around the world, and Cantonese folks who are in various parts of the world have sent in videos to tell their overseas stories.
Among the many video submitters, Huang Rongfu is the oldest one. Living in Britain for more than 60 years, he still clearly remembers that distant childhood night, under the banyan tree in Longjiangli, Xiangang Town, Kaiping City, Jiangmen, his hometown, where his grandfather and uncle waved fans while telling the younger generation about their past in the United States, "Gold Mountain" (that is, San Francisco).
At that time, Huang Rongfu's father was also making a living in San Francisco and sent letters home from time to time. Combined with the messages from across the ocean—gold mining, laundry, encounters with fellow countrymen—these thrilling, happy, or sad stories are deeply imprinted in Huang Rongfu's mind. "Golden Mountain," thus, has become the image haunting his life.
"From then on, I secretly set the ambition to follow the steps of my grandfather, uncle, and father when I grow up." At the age of five, Huang's family moved to Hong Kong, and in 1963, he embarked on a solo journey to study in the UK, officially beginning his search for his own "Golden Mountain."
In Britain, a totally strange land, Huang Rongfu struggled to overcome language barriers and other obstacles, endeavoring to adapt to his new life. After graduating from school, he took a job at a restaurant, where he continually accumulated experience before eventually opening his own takeaway shop specializing in fish and chips; thereby, he earned his first fortune. Gradually, his business grew larger and larger, expanding from the catering industry into supermarkets, investments, and other fields.
In the late 19th century, a large number of Chinese people arrived in Liverpool, where they settled and worked hard, forming a considerable Chinese community. By the time Huang Rongfu arrived, Liverpool was experiencing a new wave of Chinese immigration, and Chinese commerce flourished for a time.
As the number of overseas Chinese increased, so did certain conflicts. To better safeguard the commercial interests of the Chinese, Huang Rongfu founded the Liverpool Chinese Business Association in 1993. He reached out to various associations to organize Sino-British exchanges in commerce, culture, and technology, promoting people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. Serving as a liaison between the Liverpool City Council and the Chinese community, he actively lobbied for government funding for the construction of a gateway in Liverpool's Chinatown, successfully pushing for the establishment of this unique Chinese-style gateway, of which he remains proud to this day.
Huang Rongfu has two daughters and a son. Despite having lived and worked in Britain for over half a century, he always takes his children back to his hometown of Kaiping to visit the ancestral home and watchtowers, to learn about the history of how older generations of overseas Chinese struggled and fought overseas, and to cultivate their affection for their hometown.
"Among my family members and relatives, some have emigrated to the United States, Canada, and others to South America. Their children have mostly grown up and integrated into the local society," said Huang Rongfu. His own "Gold Mountain Dream" has now been realized, and he hopes to lead more younger generations back to Guangdong to find their own "Gold Mountain" one day.
Copywriter: Chen Rongwei
Video script: Chen Rongwei, Li Qian, Gong Chunhui
English editors: Liu Lingzhi, Wei Shen, Huang Qini
Coordinators: Lu Yi, Xie Miaofeng, Zeng Qiang, Qi Lei, Ouyang Yan
Planners: Wang Xiyong, Cao Si, Zhao Yang, Wang Haijun
