Cang Dong Village is in the Tangkou Township, part of Kaiping City in Guangdong Province. It has long been the home of the Clan surnamed Xie.
A gentleman named Xie Rong-shan moved from Xin Hui (in Guangdong Province) and first settled in the area about 700 years ago. From the third generation the village was divided into two villages with Xie Hou-cheng and his descendants living in Cang Dong (East) while Xie Hou-jian lived in Cang Sai (West). There have been about 25 generations since the first settlement.
History
During the late Qing Dynasty, the population of Cang Dong village increased. In 1905 some returnee overseas Chinese from N. America moved out of Cang Dong and set up a new village called “Dong Ming Village” nearby.
During the 1930’s Cang Dong Village thrived. At that time some overseas Chinese came back to the village with remittances and invested in their hometown. Ancestral halls and schools were built. It was the most glorious era of Cang Dong Village. At the same time, the family of Xie Yue-you built their own village named Geng Hua Village and the private Li Yuan Garden, just to the east of Dong Ming Village. After the 1940’s war, up to the 1970’s the population increased to a peak of more than 300 people. However, the population decreased after Deng Xiao-ping’s opening-up policy (since 1978), and again there was a migration of some villagers overseas, while others moved out to cities in China.
The economic development greatly influenced and affected the local cultural landscape. Currently there are 51 buildings in Cang Dong but only about 50 people live in the village. The numbers of overseas Cang Dong villagers are three times more than live in the village itself. Most of them live in Canada and the US, some of them are in Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, etc.
Cangdong Heritage Education Centre
Using a multi-pronged approach, the project to establish the Cangdong Heritage Education Centre has helped to reverse the gradual abandonment of this once-prosperous farming community in Guangdong Province. Located near the Kaiping Diaolou and Villages World Heritage property, the village contains noteworthy architectural typologies dating to the Ming Dynasty which the project has selected for conservation, resulting in the sensitive restoration of two ancestral halls, a defensive watchtower and the Furen Temple. By designing an outreach programme targeting youth, the project has helped to raise awareness and concern about local heritage among the younger generation. The commendable efforts of community members, patrons and conservationists have realized an ambitious new vision for the revitalization of the village.
Online Video
Coverage for CongDong Project