SYSU and me: IAWE conference in Hong Kong and Guangzhou (Day 4-1)

 

Zhousan! A colleague from Guangzhou, whom I met when I was working part-time at a Chinese restaurant when I was in high school in Tokyo, once told me, the congee in Guangzhou is "number one". I remembered what he said.

Well, although I'm sure that century egg and lean meat congee of this quality can be found easily in Hong Kong, and in Taipei if you look hard enough, but any random shop nearest to hotel can offer this quality is a sign that the level in Guangzhou is quite high!
 

Bought coffee at a bakery, and walked toward Sun Yat-sen University, venue of the conference. I spotted many foreigners.
 

Here I am at SYSU at last. There's a long story about SYSU and me. To tell you the truth, I once had a dream of studying there. It was the first Chinese university that I had heard of.

When I was in junior high, I became so obsessed with China that I started attending Chinese mass at Sophia University, hoping to learn some Chinese for free. There, I met Fr. Cochini, a French jesuit who spoke excellent Mandarin Chinese. He told me that he had taught French at SYSU in Guangzhou. That's how I first heard of the place.

Later, I became more interested in Cantonese than Mandarin. Back then in Japan, the easiest way to get in touch with Chinese culture was to watch hugely popular Hong Kong movies, of which I was a big fan. Those were all in Cantonese soundtrack with Japanese subtitles. Many of my classmates knew some Cantonese phrases from watching them. On the other hand, the only chance to hear Mandarin was NHK's Chinese courses. The strong Beijing-style rolled tongues and communist-style culture that went along with them put me off. (I somehow had an impression that most people who were learning Mandarin in Japan were left-wing people.)

So I started having a dream of going somewhere where I could learn Cantonese and Mandarin at the same time, and SYSU was such a place. (Back then, the idea of learning Mandarin in Hong Kong seemed a very bizarre one, even more so than learning English there.)

The first time I actively sought possibility of studying Chinese was when I was in the second year of university in the UK. In the UK back then, Chinese meant Cantonese. I looked into possibility of going to SYSU in Guangzhou. After all, I had an uncle who had studied at the Institute of Chinese medicine in Guangzhou, so it did not seem to be an outladish idea. However, I learned that foreigners had to pay a special rate in mainland China, and that the living conditions in dormitories in China were still not suitable for foreigners. Eventually, my friends from Hong Kong recommended going to Taiwan instead. Eventually, that's how I ended up in Taiwan.

I learned for the first time from Prof. Bolton that SYSU used to be the Christian College of Canton run by American missionaries. Interesting for me because my paper was about missionary schools teaching English in Taiwan.
 

Coffee shop. I really liked the building styles of SYSU, which were a combination of southern Chinese and western elements.
 

Signs in traditional characters. I thought the government had banned the use of the traditional in public signs...

Personally, I used to prefer simplified because it gave me less pain writing. But now that most writing are done by typing on computers, it makes no difference. Besides, the traditional seems to be aesthetically more pleasing.

High school field trip?
 

 

 

I liked those buildings.
 

I was surprised this one not taken down during the recent anti-Japanese riot.
 

Language classrooms were modern and cozy.
 

Lunchbox provided by the conference was very nice. Not very cheap, it seemed. I liked it much better than western style conference food in Hong Kong. I like western too, but I don't have to eat it in Hong Kong and China.
 

Zhongda Yixian mineral water!
 

Mandarin orange from southern Fujian, provided together with lunch. The culture is different from Hong Kong, even though it is so close geographically.
 

The signs are very clear and well-designed. It's good they spelt it "Yat-sen Road", instead of "Yixian Road"!
 

The school of Foreign Languages. Finally, I arrived at the venue of the conference. Pretty much the whole day was spent in the conference, which included the presentation of my own paper.

It was cool to listen to David Graddol in such a close distance, and his talk on languages in the Pearl River Delta was immensely interesting!

In the next post, I'll write about my "adventure" to the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Guangzhou, with the "remote control" from Wendy, a student at SYSU.

To be continued...
 

Robustness of Guangzhou-Hong Kong style Cantonese (Part 1): Languages in Pearl River Delta

(Video: People in Hong Kong and Guangzhou rallying in defense of Cantonese. In my impression, Cantonese is still very robust in the Pearl River Delta; people could perhaps be a bit oversensitive due to the massive influx of migrants from other provinces.)

I used to feel relieved to cross the Hong Kong-China border over to Shenzhen, because I was finally getting out of the strange (to me) environment of Cantonese and going back into the familiar Mandarin-speaking environment of Shenzhen. Shenzhen could be one of the most Putonghua-friendly cities in China. The majority of its citizens come from many different provinces. So although it used to be a Cantonese and Hakka speaking small town in the past, many people you come across in Shenzhen today don’t speak much Cantonese. (It seems, though, that speaking Cantonese is considered fashionable among some young people who grew up in Shenzhen regardless of where their parents come from. This is probably because of the Hong Kong influence. It is entirely possible that there will be a shift in Shenzhen towards Cantonese in just one generation.)

But further inland the Pearl River Delta, it become a Cantonese world. Although there is a huge outsider population in Guangdong, people will try Cantonese first if they are not sure what language you speak. In modern and upmarket places, people seem to use Cantonese more. Like in Hong Kong, they may associate Cantonese with modernity and urban life, and consider all other languages as “Heung-ha wa (country bumpkin languages).

It seems to me that Cantonese is more robust than many people in the area think. Perhaps the local Cantonese-speaking people feel under threat because of the presence of a large number of migrant workers from other provinces in their area. Although almost everybody in Guangzhou are fluent in Mandarin, they seem to be making it a point to speak Cantonese, just to let others know that they are city folks, unlike those who come from other poorer provinces to work. (Those people are generally called “northerners”, regardless of which part of China they come from.)

 Another reason why Cantonese is so robust is because it is still used as the primary broadcast language in Guangdong, despite the fact that probably more than half of the population in that province are from non-Cantonese backgrounds. (Aside from those migrant workers from other provinces, there are other non-Cantonese indigenous languages in Guangdong, such as Hakka, Teochew, etc. But those languages are almost never used in broadcasts. As a result, most of those non-Cantonese Guangdongers have passive understanding of Cantonese.) This is probably because radio and TV stations in Guangdong need to compete with Hong Kong stations that provide superior programming, and are widely available in the province. (The situation is rather different in Amoy, where the only Hokkien-speaking radio station has a function of propaganda machine targeted at Taiwan, and mainstream broadcasts for locals are in Mandarin.) I remember hearing a friend from Guangzhou telling me about 30 years ago that he never listened to local radio stations because he preferred Hong Kong stations.

What is notable about Guangzhou-Hong Kong style Cantonese is that it is probably the only regional lingua franca other than Putonghua still robustly used in China. In various parts of Pearl River Delta, different dialects of Cantonese are spoken. But they are now gradually replaced by Guangzhou-Hong Kong accent Cantonese, probably because of the media influence. For example, in Shunde, Foshan or Jiangmen, the older generation may still speak their distinct variety of Cantonese, but the youth can only speak Guangzhou-Hong Kong style Cantonese plus Putonghua. This is unlike other important languages in southern China. In southeastern Fujian, it seems (I have never been there), people in each place speak their own variety of Hokkien plus Putonghua, and Amoy-Taiwan style Hokkien doesn’t really function as a regional lingua franca although it is the variety used on the radio.

This robustness of Cantonese always surprises me. In the post-war Taiwan, all the regional languages died out within one generation. Even in families where parents are from Shanghai, their siblings in Taiwan speak zero Shanghainese, and often don’t even have passive comprehension. Many young people are not proficient even in their own local language: Amoy-Taiwan Hokkien. On the other hand, I’ve met families where even the third generation born in Taiwan can still converse fluently with also Taiwan-born parents in Cantonese. (Their Cantonese-speaking grandparents may be from Vietnam, Malaysia or Canton.) I also know of people whose either parent only is Cantonese, but consider themselves Cantonese-speaking.

Another interesting thing I noticed is this: Malaysian students studying in Taiwan become proficient speakers of Cantonese only after they arrive in Taiwan, where Cantonese is seldom used by locals. Yes, Cantonese is a lingua franca in some parts of Malaysia including Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur. But in other cities in Malaysia, some other Chinese language is the lingua franca, for example Hokkien in Penang, Hokchiu in Kucing, Mandarin in Malacca, etc. Regardless of that, after they arrive in Taiwan, they all start talking to each other in Cantonese. All this despite the fact that they are all Mandarin-educated and that most of them also speak Amoy-Taiwan Hokkien pretty well. I wonder why…

Well, that’s another story, so I’ll write a separate article some other time.

Back to China again; IAWE conference in Hong Kong and Guangzhou (Day 3-2)

First of all, I would like to thank the kindness of all my friends in/from China. Without their help, this "fun" trip would not have been possible!

Nice to be back in China! This is the China side of Shenzhen Bay immigration. The procedure was efficient and speeedy, and the immigration officer actually smiled at me!

It's always nice to be back in the familiar world of Mandarin in Shenzhen, coming from the strange Cantonese environment of Hong Kong. Shenzhen is a predominantly Mandarin-speaking city, despite its location in Guangdong and proximity to Hong Kong. I'll write a separate article about the language situation in Pearl River Delta later.

Another reason why I feel a sense of relief being back in China may have to do with the orderlyness or otherwise. Hong Kong is very much like Japan, where everything is squeeky clean, orderly and done according to the rules. While it's nice, it may give somewhat suffocating feeling to someone who has lived in Taiwan for so long! I always feel relieved when I arrive in "chaotic" Taipei after being in Japan for a while. Entering China from Hong Kong, or going to Johor Baru from Singapore for that matter, gives me a similar feeling. 

Our nice coach belongs to Hong Kong side, judging from the side of the steering wheel.

Everything in Shenzhen is new and shiny. I like old cities, but SZ is interesting in its own way, because it is unlike any other city in China. This time, though, we had to bypassed it.

When we passed by Dongguan, which is known as "Little Taiwan", I tried to look for any traces of Taiwan from the window of our coach, but could not find any, except the fake Mickey on a kindergarten wall.

Guangzhou, here we come!

Gangnam style in Guangzhou. Before this, they were dancing to salsa and Hindipop tunes! Globalization...

A huge mass of people dancing in the park really reminded me that I was in China! Thanks, Wendy and Xiao-wan, for taking me around.

Thanks to Wendy and Xiao-wan, I finally arrived at Sun Yat-sen University, my destination. Rather different from my expectation... I mean, I didn't expect hundreds of people dancing Gangnam style in front of its gate.

It would be nice to take a cruise on Pearl River.

Yes, this is the kind of Guangzhou thing that I wanted to experience. A restaurant row near the Small North Gate of SYSU. I would not have been able to find it without Wendy and Xiao-wan taking me there.

Luckily, it was not as spicy as it looked. Perhaps Xiao-wan wanted it spicier! She's from Vietnam.

Teppan-tofu. I didn't realize it was a Cantonese dish.

Of course, we got to eat a lot of fresh veggie.

The streets in the area where I stayed was not glossy like Shangri-La area, but were wide, clean, and bright. The roads were evener and tidier in general than Taipei. Maybe thanks to the clean-up before the Asian Games?

It's amazing to witness how fast big cities in China advance. When I first went to Shanghai in 1997, Pudong, which is now full of futuristic skyscrapers, was just a pile of mud. There was no linear motor car from the airport then, so I had to be careful not to be ripped off by tricycle drivers (but I still was). People could tell me immediately that I was from overseas from the way I dressed. Quite a few men were still wearing Mao jacket back then. Some toilets were starting to have doors, but it still did not occur to some people that they could close them.

Of course, I'm happy about the development of China. But I somehow also miss the days when visiting China was such an adventure. Really, not one day passed without an incident which really blew my mind. Both good and bad, but maybe more bad.

Thanks to the recommendation by Amy, one of the exchange students from China in my class, I chose to stay at 7-days Inn. One of the reason why this hotel chain can keep the prices so low is because they choose locations that are hard to find. But it does not mean that they are in inconvenient locations. There was this Family Mart near my hotel, which reminded me of Taiwan. (On the other hand, Seven-Elevens and Circle Ks in Guangzhou are more like those in Hong Kong.)

At this Family Mart, I often spotted many foreigners, who appreared to be from Africa and Russia. The guy in the shop spoke very good English. But he spoke to me in Cantonese.

It seems that Cantonese is the first choice for convenience stores in Guangzhou. Perhaps because it gives a Hong Kong kind of feeling? (Read my post on the robustness of Cantonese.) 

This room for RMB157! Well worth it. Such a far cry from the disgusting room in Hong Kong which was for HK$280 per night! (It eventually became HK$480 per night because they charged Alan HK$200 for the no-show the first night...)

Because otherwise, I found the prices of things quite expensive in Guangzhou. I felt the food in restaurants and other things in the convenience stores much more expensive than in Taipei. Later, I learned that properties in Guangzhou can actually be more expensive than those in Taipei. So the price at 7-days Inn is even more surprising. 

Facilities were very clean. There was abundance of hot water for shower. (This can be a problem for cheap hotels in many countries.)

Internet was OK, except that Gmail and Facebook were slow (due to the Great Firewall?).

Hot water for making tea is a must for Chinese travellers anywhere.

Towels were very clean and changed everyday.

As usual for hotels in China, there was a price list of equipments in the room for those who wanted to take them home for souvenirs. It included, as usual, prices for things like toilet lid and the map for emergency evacuation.

I was able to sleep well that night.

Before departure to China: IAWE conference in Hong Kong and Guangzhou (Day 3-1)

I woke up early in the morning to take a stroll in the public park behind Alan's house. I think the Brits did a good job in planting trees all over Hong Kong. Across the border in China, many hills are just bare rocks. Those in Hong Kong must have been the same, since they share the same climate, and they are just a few kilometers away from each other. The vegetation can't be that radically different.

The park has Chinese herb gardens and walking trails with Chinese qigong and 養生 theme. It is very tastefully done, and far better than fake Euro-Japanese style often seen in Taiwan. 

Hong Kong style, early morning. I saw some old Indian ladies practicing taiji. The old taiji master spoke English. He must have taught many non-Chinese Hong Kong residents.

This is the building in which Alan's flat is.

Don't know which flat, though...

At the top of the hill in the park, there is this pavillion. I did my morning prayer there.

Down the hill towards Chinese herbal garden.

Despite the fact that the important highway connecting the international airport with the city center was right behind the park, it was very quiet there. It was a very nice park, and I think the government of Hong Kong is doing a very good job designing and maintaining public spaces. I wish Hakone-yama in Shin-okubo was as nice as this one...

 

After a healthy morning stroll, unhealthy breakfast. At a tea house underneath Alan's flat.

That tutorial center famous in Manila was also here. Not a single Chinese word written in all of the tutorial centers I found in Alan's flat, reminding of English-medium education in Hong Kong. They spelt "math" the Philippine way! (It should be "maths" in the Hong Kong style.) Could many tutors be from the Philippines, as in many other countries?

Despite the fact that teaching model in Hong Kong schools is still the RP, I noticed that more and more children there are sounding rhotic. Could this be Philippine influence? Although the Hong Kong presenter I met at the conference denied the possibility and attributed it to American influence through the media, it is still true that those kids in Hong Kong get most exposure to English through their Philippine yayas.

 

Every year, the same lunch at the City U! I skipped the western style lunch provided at the conference and went to Festival Walk to eat this. I feel that the price of food in Hong Kong to be about the same level as Tokyo.

At the back gate of the City U, awaiting coach to China. Coaches in Hong Kong and China looked much more trustworthy than those we see here on Taipei roads, at least on the surface. No amateurish paintings of fake Donald Duck and Doraemon next to a Chinese fortune god, nor unpronouncable Chinese transliterations, different on the both sides despite the same Chinese name, on the body.

Now, off to China! Professor Moody of Universidade de Macau explaing the immigration requirements. People were wondering why on earth only the Japanese and Singaporean passport holders were not required a visa, when even those Macau residents holding US/European passports needed one. I felt the strong link between Japan and the People's Republic, despite all the recent fuss.