A Summer in Guangzhou Cheung Chiu Shan

In the summer of 1950, my mother went to Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province. She brought me along to visit my aunt, whom I had never met before.

While crossing the border, my mother told me to keep silent at the inspection station. The inspector, a man with a forbidding look, asked my mother many questions about our visit. Clutching the corner of my mother's blouse, I glanced around to see the people working in the room. They were all dressed alike, everyone in a dull, drab uniform. I was relieved that we could leave as soon as the inspection was over.

Guangzhou was a city of sprawling slums. My aunt lived in a decrepit old house with my cousins,  two boys aged six and eight.  My mother brought gifts for everyone --- new clothes, shoes, slippers, dried mushrooms, Tiger Balm ointment, canned food, towels, Sunkist oranges, and some other things essential for the necessities of life. I suspected that my mother would have brought a lot more if both of her hands had not been full with the luggage she carried.

Over dinner we talked. My aunt sighed with sadness. ˇ§Rice, flour, sugar and cooking oil are rationed. Near the end of the month, sometimes I have to make gruel instead of cooked rice for the children. Pork is also rationed when the supply is scarce." said my aunt in a low voice.

My cousins were overjoyed at the sight of Sunkist oranges, a type of fresh  fruit  obtainable only on the black market.  As I drifted to sleep, I could hear my aunt's words, ˇ§People in the neighborhood know I have visitors from Hong Kong.   I applied and was granted extra rationed food for this week.ˇ¨ Early next morning I was awakened  by my aunt. While everyone was sleeping, we slipped out of the house. Walking down the cobbled lane, holding my aunt's hand, I could feel the gentle breeze cool my face. My aunt smiled, whispering in my ear, ˇ§Would you like to go see Mr. Char Siu Man? "  I nodded.

After eating breakfast, we headed for the market. My aunt ordered char siu  pork in a stall where roasted meat was sold. On my tiptoes,  I  watched Mr. Char Siu Man  deftly slice the chunks of char siu into pieces. Then he plopped the meat onto a dried lotus leaf. Making a right fold, left fold, he rolled the wrapped char siu and tucked the lotus leaf neatly. At home, my aunt unfolded the wrapper.   The fragrance of the lotus leaf wafted through the air.  My aunt gave me a piece of the meat.   The tasty morsel disappeared into my mouth instantly.

Next day my aunt took the whole family to a scenic lake where lotus was cultivated.  We sat in a teahouse located in a pavilion on the lake.  Looking out, we saw lotus plants everywhere. While the lovely lotus leaves waved in the gentle summer breeze, the ravishing blossoms, in shades of white and pink, enchanted us with their exquisite beauty and graceful pose. Nearby a boatman asked if we would like to buy some lotus blossoms. My aunt nodded. The boatman rowed his boat until he reached a lotus plant. He brought my aunt a few lotus blossoms  and a lotus  seedpod for me. "People cherish the lotus because it is such a versatile plant. The seeds are edible, so are the roots. The leaves can be used as wrappers for wrapping meat. The blossoms, when put in a vase with water, will last up to eight to nine days. "  said my aunt.    When the time came for us to leave, I scanned the scenery once more as I knew my chances for seeing the beautiful lake again were very slim.

As the days went by, my aunt and I grew closer. We were together day and night. On the last day of our visit, my aunt went to the train station to see us off.   Putting her arms around me, my aunt told me to study hard in school, her eyes glistened with tears.  I knew in my heart that my aunt loved me, as much as a mother loved her daughter. One week in a lifetime is too brief a duration to share with a loved one. For my aunt and me, that is all the time we have. Our paths will not cross again in the future. Last night I dreamed of my aunt walking down the cobbled lane with me. I put my little fingers in her hand.  Her eyes looked directly at me.  She smiled, whispering in my ear one more time.

Time passes, memories remain, love never ends.

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