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South Barracks

It was the most invisible ancestral home

After a gourmet and delicious lunch my Dad took us to visit our ancestral home at South Barracks. This was definitely not a place where tourists will normally visit. It was sad to see that with progress and prosperity that the place where my father grew up has been torn down. While we were there in 2002 the place was being torn down for the second time. The only thing left was an archway declaring "South Barracks" in Chinese. My father was a little sad and nostalgic.

We then took a quick, convenient, and fun pedicab ride to the Lin Zexu Memorial Hall. Today Lin Zexu is treated as a Chinese hero who tried to stop the British from selling opium to China in the 1800's. This action resulted in the Opium War. Today he is revered in China as a champion for anti-drug.

Another reason for us to visit this residence/museum is that my father said that his house at South Barracks looked exactly like Lin Zexu's house. Theresa and I explored the different rooms while my father would pointed out a room where he would have been studying with a private tutor or been playing in the garden.