2011年3月29日 Mar 29, 2011
香港 Hong Kong
中国に4月5日は、先祖の墓にお参りする日。４月５日に近づいて、香港にいることを生かして、初めて父の地元へ墓参りしに行ってきた。目的地は南中国の広東県にある汕尾市というところ。香港からバスで２０分かかって中国の国境にある羅湖まで行って、中国に入って、そこから運転手を雇用して２時間半かかって到着。
In China, Apr 5 is the day to pay respect to your ancestors. As Apr 5 approaches, I took advantage of the fact that I am in Hong Kong to visit my ancestors' graves in my Dad's hometown for the first time. The destination was the city of Shanwei in Guangdong Province in southern China. From Hong Kong, it took about 20 minutes to get to the border town of Lo Wu where we entered China. From there, we hired a driver to take us to Shanwei in about two and a half hours.
途中見つけた村の一つで、空にたくさんの提灯が高く掛けてあって、面白い光景になった。
On the way we saw this town with a lot of lanterns hanging high in the air. It was an interesting sight.
着いたらまずはお昼を食べた。海辺だから海鮮がたくさんあって、サメまで食べられる。
Upon arrival, our first order of business was having lunch. Being close to the coast, there was a lot of seafood, including sharks.
次は、父のほうの祖父母の墓にのお参り。中国人に風水ということは大事なので、先祖の墓はできれば山に高くて景色のよい場所に配置。祖父母の墓はそういう場所にあるけど、中国の急速な発展に伴って、景色は現代的になった。
Next, we visited my paternal grandparents' grave. Since Feng Shui is very important for Chinese, we like to put graves up in the mountain in high places with a view. My grandparents' grave is in such a location. However, with the rapid development of China, the view has become quite modern.
最後に、叔母さんの墓にもお参りした。叔母さんの墓の周りに村も水田もあるのでまだ田舎の風景。
Finally, we also paid a visit to my aunt's grave. It is located in an area with a village and rice paddies. So the view is still that of countryside.
これは伝統的な家の入口。ドアに家を守る二人の神様の絵が貼ってあって、側にも上にも吉祥の言葉が書いてある。
This is a traditional front entrance to a house. Drawings of the two deities guarding the house were posted on the door. On both sides and above are posted phrases which are supposed to bring good fortune.
地蔵様の祭壇の近くに干し物がされていた。
Laundry was hanging close to an altar for the guardian god of the Earth.
子供たちは遊んでいた。
Children were playing.
山に登って振り返って見た水田は綺麗。
We climbed the mountain, turned back, and were treated to a beautiful view of the rice paddies.
叔母さんの墓の側に綺麗な花が咲いていた。
Beautiful flowers were blooming next to my aunt's grave.
帰る途中羅湖で夕食に、中華料理の法則による「色、香り、味」もある食べ物を食べた。
On the way back we stopped by the Lo Wu area for dinner. We had food which was aesthetically pleasing,, aromatic and tasty, encompassing all three key elements of Chinese cuisine.
これは、前菜２品のみじん切り野菜と、見た目だけガチョウ見たいのベジタリアン・ガチョウ。
Here are the two dishes for appetizer: chopped veggie and vegetarian goose which was like goose only in appearance.
これは、みじん切り牛肉が入ってる春巻き。
These are spring rolls stuffed with ground beef.
これは、凄く綺麗で旨い杭州風豚角煮。食べた脂肪を消化するために運動する必要があっても価値がある。
This is a beautiful and delicious pork stew, Hangzhou style. Even if you have to exercise to burn off the fat, it is worth it.
これは、羊炒め。
This is lamb stir fry.
皆の望ましい旅先ではないけど、楽しい一日を過ごした。
This was an enjoyable day trip, albeit not to a tourist destination.
では、that's it for now.