19-03-2017, 01:32 PM
The economic miracle taking shape in my Fujian ancestral village
It may be time to start hunting for Alibaba wannabes in places like this
by Goh Eng Yeow
Recently, I visited my Fujian ancestral village in China again - a quaint place with stone-walled houses and red-tiered rooftops now just a 40-minute drive from the coastal city of Xiamen.
It had been four years since I last visited, and the scale of the transformation that had taken place took my breath away.
As my taxi sped through the 10-lane expressway leading to the village, I was greeted with high-rise condos and giant malls that had sprouted since my last visit.
Even the ancient village itself had been spruced up. The county government spent 100 million yuan (S$20 million) refurbishing the old houses and turning the surroundings into a huge park, complete with pink cherry blossom trees and jogging trails.
The 200-year-old ancestral house where my father spent his childhood has been earmarked for conservation and turned into an exhibition hall for aspiring artists to display their paintings.
More details in http://www.straitstimes.com/business/the...al-village
It may be time to start hunting for Alibaba wannabes in places like this
by Goh Eng Yeow
Recently, I visited my Fujian ancestral village in China again - a quaint place with stone-walled houses and red-tiered rooftops now just a 40-minute drive from the coastal city of Xiamen.
It had been four years since I last visited, and the scale of the transformation that had taken place took my breath away.
As my taxi sped through the 10-lane expressway leading to the village, I was greeted with high-rise condos and giant malls that had sprouted since my last visit.
Even the ancient village itself had been spruced up. The county government spent 100 million yuan (S$20 million) refurbishing the old houses and turning the surroundings into a huge park, complete with pink cherry blossom trees and jogging trails.
The 200-year-old ancestral house where my father spent his childhood has been earmarked for conservation and turned into an exhibition hall for aspiring artists to display their paintings.
More details in http://www.straitstimes.com/business/the...al-village
