Chinese Australian Hometown Heritage Tour

Exploring the history, heritage and culture of the Pearl River Delta

NOTE: Due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, our plans for future tours are postponed indefinitely.

Do you have a Cantonese ancestor but have never been to China? Do you want to know more about your Cantonese roots but don’t know where to start? Are you interested in learning more about overseas Chinese culture and heritage?

Together with my friend and fellow historian, Sophie Couchman, I organise and host the Chinese Australian Hometown Heritage Tour to Guangdong, China. The tour begins in Hong Kong and visits qiaoxiang (overseas Chinese hometown) districts in the Pearl River Delta. It is an introduction to qiaoxiang history, culture and everyday life, with a focus on Australia.

The tour is accompanied by an English-speaking guide and by two Australian historians, Dr Kate Bagnall and Dr Sophie Couchman. Tour arrangements for our first three tours were made through Active Travel, a reputable Canberra-based company specialising in small group travel.

The Hometown Heritage Tour visits:

• ‘Australian’ villages in Xinhui, Kaiping, Taishan and Zhongshan
• Cangdong village, a conservation and development project in Kaiping (with historical connections to Australia)
• the UNESCO World Heritage-listed diaolou and villages in Kaiping
• other heritage sites with overseas connections such as Chikan town (Kaiping), the Moy Family Compound (Meijia Dayuan, in Taishan), and Sunwen Road West (Zhongshan)
• museums such as the Wuyi Overseas Chinese Museum and the Zhongshan Museum of Xiangshan Commercial Culture.

Activities include:

• talks about the history, culture, architecture and heritage of the places we visit, from your hosts and local experts
• eating local foods, including countryside specialities
• interaction with locals and experiencing daily life in the countryside.

March 2019 tour

Our third tour was held from 6 to 17 March 2019:

• Hometown Heritage Tour March 2019 brochure (pdf)

January 2018 tour

Our second tour was held from 14 to 24 January 2018:

• Hometown Heritage Tour January 2018 brochure (pdf)
• where we went and what we did in 2018

March 2017 tour

Our first tour was held from 22 to 31 March 2017:

• Hometown Heritage Tour March 2017 brochure (pdf)
• what we did and where we went