ChinaFocus:RenovatedhomesofoverseasChinesepreserveancestralbonds_GuangmingOnlineTouristsvisitaMinnanred-brickbuildinginWulinVillageofJinjiang,southeastChina'sFujianProvince,Dec.19,2023.(Xinhua/JiangKehong)FUZHOU,Sept.3(Xinhua)--InWulinVillageofeastChina'sFujianProvince,visitorsareoftenenthralledbythemedleyofarchitecturalstyles:localred-brickhouses,Gothicbuildings,Greco-Romanesquestructures,andbuildingsblendingbothChineseandWesternelements.Theeclecticblendofarchitecturalstylesvividlynarratesthestoryofthevillage'sconnectiontotheoverseasChinesecommunity.Inthelate19thandearly20thcenturies,manyvillagerstraveledtoSoutheastAsiatoworkandsentmoneybacktobuildhomes.Asaresult,thehousesoftenshowcasedacaptivatingfusionofexoticinfluences.Wulinisknownasanancestralhome,whilethevillagehasapermanentpopulationofover1,800,thenumberofoverseasChinesewithtiestoitis10timeshigher.CaiLianqing,aFilipinoChineseinhis80s,recentlyreturnedtothevillageafterdecadesaway.Here,hefoundwhatoncewasasimplepathwasnowabustlingroad,surroundedbymodernamenities.However,amidstthechanges,Caicaughtafamiliarsightthatevokedafloodofmemories–histwo-storyancestralhouse,"ChangChengXiaozhu.""Thebuildingwasnamedaftermyfatheranduncle.Asyoungteenagers,theyhadgonetothePhilippinestowork,savinguptheirearningstobuildthishouseintheirhometown,"Caisaid.Seventyyearson,thehousestillstandsproudly.Inrecentyears,over100formerresidencesofoverseasChinese,oncedilapidatedandunattended,havebeenrenovatedandpreservedunderlocalgovernmentefforts,allowingoverseasChineselikeCaitomaintainconnectionstotheirroots.Unsurprisingly,thevillagehasalsoprovenahitwithtourists,keentoimmersethemselvesinitsrichculturalconfluenceandhearstoriesofoverseasChinese."Whenwerevitalizetheancestralhomes,werespecttheirhistoricalandculturalsignificance,andtakeanapproachbasedonthelocaloverseasChineseculturewhileinjectingnewelementsbasedonthebuildings'uniquefeatures,"saidHongMianmian,deputygeneralmanagerofWulinQingpuCulturalandTourismDevelopmentCo.,Ltd.,adeveloperofthevillage.Manyofthesebuildingshavetransformedintoculturalvenues,cafs,restaurants,andheritagecenters.Since2021,thevillagehasclockedupmorethan400culturallyenrichingevents,whichareespeciallyappealingtotheyoungergeneration.ThetransformationofWulinVillageservesasaquintessentialexampleoftherecurrenceofancestralhomesinFujian.Theprovinceboastsaremarkablelegacy,beingtheancestralhomelandof15.8millionoverseasChineseworldwide,reflectingtheenduringtiesthatbindthisthrivingcommunitytotheirroots.OverseasChinesehistorymuseumshavesprungupacrossFujiantohonortheirhistoryandcontributions.Earlierthisyear,inYujiangVillage,ZhangzhouCity,theformerresidenceofpatrioticoverseasChineseleaderLinKaidewasrenovatedandopenedasamemorialhall,allowingthepublictovisitforfree.LinKaide'schildrenfundedtherenovationoftheirfather'sformerresidencetocommemoratehislifelongpatrioticpursuitandthelocalgovernmentlaterorganizedtheexhibitions."Aslongastheoldhousesremain,ourrootsremain,carryingthedeepnostalgiaofoverseasChinesecompatriots.Wewillcontinuetoprotectthesentimentsofourforebearsandpassthemon,"LinShaofen,sonofLinKaide,said.■TouriststakephotosatahistoricalbuildinginWulinVillageofJinjiang,southeastChina'sFujianProvince,Dec.19,2023.(Xinhua/JiangKehong)ThisphototakenonDec.19,2023showsaviewofahistoricalbuildingblendingbothChineseandWesternelementsinWulinVillageofJinjiang,southeastChina'sFujianProvince.(Xinhua/JiangKehong)TouristsvisitahistoricalbuildinginWulinVillageofJinjiang,southeastChina'sFujianProvince,Dec.19,2023.(Xinhua/JiangKehong)LocalvillagerCaiWenshi(C)talkswithtouristsatahistoricalbuildinginWulinVillageofJinjiang,southeastChina'sFujianProvince,Dec.19,2023.(Xinhua/JiangKehong)ThisphototakenonDec.19,2023showsaviewofWulinVillageofJinjiang,southeastChina'sFujianProvince.(Xinhua/JiangKehong)WuShaopeng,anartcuratoranddescendantofoverseasChinese,showsoldfamilyphotossentbackfromthePhilippinesinWulinVillageofJinjiang,southeastChina'sFujianProvince,Dec.19,2023.(Xinhua/JiangKehong)TouriststakephotosataMinnanred-brickbuildinginWulinVillageofJinjiang,southeastChina'sFujianProvince,Dec.19,2023.(Xinhua/JiangKehong)WuShaopeng(L),anartcuratoranddescendantofoverseasChinese,demonstrateshisartinstallationtotouristsatahistoricalbuildinginWulinVillageofJinjiang,southeastChina'sFujianProvince,Dec.19,2023.(Xinhua/JiangKehong)ChildrentakepartinextracurricularactivitiesatahistoricalbuildinginWulinVillageofJinjiang,southeastChina'sFujianProvince,Dec.19,2023.(Xinhua/JiangKehong)LocalvillagerCaiWenshi(R)talksabouttheconstructionprocessofahistoricalbuildingwithtouristsinWulinVillageofJinjiang,southeastChina'sFujianProvince,Dec.19,2023.(Xinhua/JiangKehong)TouristsvisitahistoricalbuildinginWulinVillageofJinjiang,southeastChina'sFujianProvince,Dec.19,2023.(Xinhua/JiangKehong)ChildrenhavefuninWulinVillageofJinjiang,southeastChina'sFujianProvince,Dec.19,2023.(Xinhua/JiangKehong)Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.