STORY: British professor explores intertwined relationship between Zhongshan and Honolulu
SHOOTING TIME: File
DATELINE: Feb. 27, 2024
LENGTH: 00:04:28
LOCATION: GUANGZHOU, China
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): MARK JAYNE, Professor of Sun Yat-sen University
2. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): CHENG MINXING, Chinese migrant returned from Honolulu
3. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): MARK JAYNE, Professor of Sun Yat-sen University
4. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): CHENG MINXING, Chinese migrant returned from Honolulu
5. SOUNDBITE 5 (English): MARK JAYNE, Professor of Sun Yat-sen University
6. SOUNDBITE 6 (English): CHENG MINXING, Chinese migrant returned from Honolulu
7. SOUNDBITE 7 (English): MARK JAYNE, Professor of Sun Yat-sen University
8. SOUNDBITE 8 (English): CHENG MINXING, Chinese migrant returned from Honolulu
9. SOUNDBITE 9 (English): MARK JAYNE, Professor of Sun Yat-sen University
10. various of the school donated by Cheng family
11. SOUNDBITE 10 (English): MARK JAYNE, Professor of Sun Yat-sen University
12. SOUNDBITE 11 (Chinese): WU JUNWEI, First Secretary of Beixi Community Party committee
13. SOUNDBITE 12 (English): MARK JAYNE, Professor of Sun Yat-sen University
14. SOUNDBITE 13 (Chinese): WU JUNWEI, First Secretary of Beixi Community Party Committee
15. various of the idle houses in Caobian Village
16. SOUNDBITE 14 (Chinese): ZHENG QIANG, Founder of Guqin Studio Workshop
17. SOUNDBITE 15 (English): MARK JAYNE, Professor of Sun Yat-sen University
18. various of the Guqin Studio Workshop and street views of Zhongshan City

STORYLINE:

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): MARK JAYNE, Professor of Sun Yat-sen University
"As a professor in the School of Geography and Planning at Sun Yat-sen University, city-twinning is one of the research topics that I'm fascinated by.
My name is Mark Jayne, and today I'll be exploring the intertwined relationship between Zhongshan and Honolulu.
Since the 19th century, so many Cantonese people left to travel the world to make their fortune. I'm going to introduce you to someone that bucked that trend and moved back to Zhongshan. Follow me!"

Anding Village, Zhongshan
Guangdong Province

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): CHENG MINXING, Chinese migrant returned from Honolulu
"Okay, we're going to school."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): MARK JAYNE, Professor of Sun Yat-sen University
"So when you were in Honolulu, you saved all the donated money for your school and your hometown?"

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): CHENG MINXING, Chinese migrant returned from Honolulu
"Yeah, 10 classrooms. They donated 5,000 (U.S. dollars) to each classroom. All the donations are (from) Cheng. The Cheng family in Hawaii."

SOUNDBITE 5 (English): MARK JAYNE, Professor of Sun Yat-sen University
"So do they, all the people in Honolulu know about their names being in the school?"

SOUNDBITE 6 (English): CHENG MINXING, Chinese migrant returned from Honolulu
"Yeah!"

SOUNDBITE 7 (English): MARK JAYNE, Professor of Sun Yat-sen University
"Oh, wow, they must be very happy. So for them, the education was important for the next generation?"

SOUNDBITE 8 (English): CHENG MINXING, Chinese migrant returned from Honolulu
"Yeah, very important, because the first time they moved to Hawaii, all (of them are) farmers."

SOUNDBITE 9 (English): MARK JAYNE, Professor of Sun Yat-sen University
"Since 1989, Mr. Cheng had been travelling frequently between Hawaii and Zhongshan to raise funds and supervise the construction of Anding School, which has now been expanded while preserving the old buildings.
In 2019, Cheng returned to Anding Village to spend his twilight years."

SOUNDBITE 10 (English): MARK JAYNE, Professor of Sun Yat-sen University
"I've been so impressed by the passion and drive shown by people like Mr. Cheng. And he is not the only one. In fact, in nearby villages, people are not only preserving these old buildings but giving them a new lease of life."

SOUNDBITE 11 (Chinese): WU JUNWEI, First Secretary of Beixi Community Party committee
"Caobian Village is home to many overseas Chinese and has a history spanning hundreds of years. The village now has around 600 residents, but more than 3,000 overseas Chinese call it their hometown.
There are more than 200 houses left behind by overseas Chinese in our village, and around 50 to 60 of them are well-preserved. Look at that old house behind us. It used to be messy and dirty, but it turned neat and pretty after a two-year restoration. Such changes can be spotted in every corner of the village."

SOUNDBITE 12 (English): MARK JAYNE, Professor of Sun Yat-sen University
"So what are you going to do with these houses? Are there still people living in them?"

SOUNDBITE 13 (Chinese): WU JUNWEI, First Secretary of Beixi Community Party Committee
"Most of such houses are idle. The building of the "Zuo Qin You Cha" Guqin Studio Workshop had been idle with nobody living there for decades. We managed to get in touch with the owner who lived overseas, asking for permission to renovate it for better preservation and reuse it.
In the beginning, the owner was doubtful. Then we rented the house to young people with low rental fees to support them in starting up businesses. In return, they helped renovate and preserve the old houses, giving them a new lease of life.
This set a great example and made more overseas Chinese pin hope on what we're doing."

SOUNDBITE 14 (Chinese): ZHENG QIANG, Founder of Guqin Studio Workshop
"We started renovating this house in 2018 with an aim of preserving its original appearance. For example, there was an old-style bed in the house which was almost hollowed out by termites. And if we tried to brace it with too much effort, it might break completely. So we found some materials from other old furniture to replace the parts of the bed. I teach Guqin here. Apart from that, we transformed a previous bedroom into a tea room, serving as a place for friends to drink tea and have a chat. Visitors can enjoy a mental relax here."

SOUNDBITE 15 (English): MARK JAYNE, Professor of Sun Yat-sen University
"Yes, I agree. This is such a relaxing place to sit down and drink some tea. 
The special bond between Zhongshan and Honolulu goes back a long way because of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. And they are now forever linked because of the work done by the overseas Chinese communities in both cities. Their work has meant the legacy and stories of these places have stayed intact and not forgotten."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Guangzhou, China.
(XHTV)