After seeing the Chinese cemetery in the Philippines, I wanted to move in directly.
There is a local saying in the Philippines: "If you have not been to Overseas Chinese Yishan, you have not been to Manila."
Overseas Chinese Yishan is the cemetery of overseas Chinese in the Philippines and the Chinese cemetery in the world. So far, no garden has been built as luxurious and spectacular as in the Philippines.
When I first arrived in Manila, I realized that cemeteries can also become tourist attractions. Tourists who come here to visit are eager to move in directly.
On various travel websites, the footnote about Huaqiao Yishan is: "There are few beautiful people in the scenic area, so it is recommended to visit."
If you go to Huaqiao Yishan by car, You can enjoy a noble experience like going home. Under the watchful eyes of security guards in white uniforms, the railings at the door will slowly rise.
The rows of houses in front of us are grouped together like villas. If it weren’t for the “Overseas Chinese Yishan” memorial archway when entering, and the occasional paper money burned in front of the door, almost no one would have seen it. I believe this is a cemetery.
This 300-acre cemetery is just like a high-end residential community. Those who don’t know it may think they have mistakenly entered the Philippines’ Beverly Hills.
When a man from Florida came here for the first time, he exclaimed: "Wow, is this a resort?" He casually opened Airbnb and wanted to check in on the same day.
In sharp contrast to the luxurious Chinese cemetery, there is a slum just across the wall. The living environment of the living is not as good as that of the dead.
The first impression of China by the Filipino children in the neighborhood next door came from this cemetery. He said, "Chinese graves are bigger than my apartment building."
"It takes twenty minutes to walk from one end of the cemetery to the other, but it only takes five minutes for me to go upstairs."
Last time, a Filipino went to the cemetery in the morning to find his dog, got lost in it, and didn’t come out until dark. The dog was already waiting for him at home.
After I came out, I kept urging my neighbors not to walk through the gate easily. Overseas Chinese Yishan is the big ecstasy in the minds of Filipinos.
The Chinese cemeteries in the Philippines have given the outside world a new understanding of Chinese people and cemeteries.
Because there is no gloomy feeling like a conventional cemetery here, only garden villas and pavilions, it is more like an architectural museum, which is pleasing to the eye.
Whether it is Chinese cemeteries in Hong Kong, Malaysia or Thailand, they are all built according to the traditional Chinese model, but here they are completely different.
Foreign tourists passing by took photos: "The Philippines has the most diverse architectural systems in the world, and they all seem to be man-made in China."
Architectural styles from all over the world have been integrated into cemeteries. Some cemeteries can directly compete for the Pritzker Prize.
When I came to the Chinese Yishan in the Philippines, I realized that death can also represent some kind of creative art.
On the basis of traditional cemeteries, the local Chinese let their imagination run wild and created a new style of ancestral graves. Traditional, modern and futuristic aesthetics are fully represented in the Chinese cemeteries in the Philippines.
Walking in Overseas Chinese Yishan, you can see Soviet elements, oriental stone lions and obelisks side by side as neighbors, which is more exciting than Shenzhen's Window to the World.
Some cemeteries hang some works and can directly hold art exhibitions.
This is not an exclusive Buddhist cemetery. People of different religions can buy land here, and it does not matter which religion they believed in during their lifetime. Some are like churches, some are like Buddhist temples, and some are in Taoist form.
Children who have watched the cartoon "Digimon" firmly believe that this is Holy Angelmon.
Filipinos are not disgusted with the Chinese cemetery next door because they are so beautiful.
Simple geometry outlines a futuristic coffin-style cemetery.
No wonder the descendants of Chinese people in the Philippines are developing well. It turns out that the Feng Shui of the ancestral tombs is good.
Some cemeteries not only use marble for their appearance, but are also equipped with modern equipment suitable for normal living. In addition to the living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, air conditioning, refrigerator, TV, telephone, etc., there is even Wi-Fi, so you will not feel scared at all when you come here.
It is said that some descendants simply live here for a long time and sleep with their ancestors.
Strong families will even hire tombkeepers to guard the tomb for a long time.
These gravekeepers are like the real owners of this cemetery in Beverly Hills, enjoying the paradise life here.
Wake up in the morning, open the door, pour a cup of Tieguanyin, sit on a wicker chair at the entrance of the cemetery and drink tea, and then start sweeping the floor to welcome a new day.
In addition to the tombkeepers hired separately by the cemetery, the entire Overseas Chinese Yishan also has a security team.
Several new buildings are built here every year. The security guard knows the Baroque style best and can easily explain the design concept of each cemetery.
Overseas Chinese Yishan is just like his hometown village. He is very familiar with the cemeteries of various styles. Give him a pack of cigarettes and he can take you to visit some of the most luxurious cemeteries with the keys.
The tastes of each major family are different, the only thing in common is that they are all rich.
“This family is a descendant of the Jinxiu Chuanfang Zhuang family, and they like the post-modern style the most.”
Some people have a soft spot for the architectural style of the Soviet period, and the cemetery is larger than that of Russia Still right.
“This big boss studied in Russia before coming to the Philippines, and he has Soviet aesthetics.”
There is a fundamentalist who went to his hometown in Fujian to invite experts in cemetery construction. The materials and styles are consistent with those from my hometown in Fujian. It is equivalent to moving the cemetery from my hometown in Fujian to the Philippines.
There is also a family who likes to eat taro from their hometown. They planted several taro plants in front of their cemetery, but they were all eaten by the cemetery security guards and gravekeepers.
The environment is so beautiful that even homeless people in the Philippines want to live in it.
Because the cemeteries inside are equipped with bedrooms and bathrooms, and some cemeteries are even equipped with TVs, which is a hundred times more enjoyable than the slums. The homeless people around agreed that this was much better than the resettlement housing provided by the government.
You can move in with your bags, bring a towel, washbasin and toothbrush, steal the offerings left by descendants to eat, and sleep in the bedroom and bed provided by the cemetery. You can stay for a year.
Living in a Chinese cemetery has become a talking point for some homeless people. For them, entering a Chinese cemetery is equivalent to sleeping in hotels all over the world.
"I once slept in the ancestral grave of the owner of a big supermarket."
There are always people who want to sneak in. It has complete facilities and does not have to pay rent. At most, they will be discovered. Just to be expelled.
So security guards are needed. The security guard’s daily task is to ride around on bicycles and deal with homeless people.
The security guard said that guarding here is much more comfortable than in a high-end community. The architecture is beautiful and pleasing to the eye, and the work is leisurely. Occasionally, descendants come to pay tribute, and by the way, you can practice speaking Chinese.
He can look at his descendants and know where his ancestors rest. The generous Chinese people are generous and will always give him something. After all, they are guarding their own ancestral graves.
When asked why the cemetery was built so luxuriously, the local Chinese said it was for reunion: "People come here every year, not only to worship their ancestors, but also to enjoy and enjoy their families." A time of reunion.”
Every year, November 2nd is All Souls’ Day in the Philippines. On this day, the Overseas Chinese Yishan will be filled with Chinese people who come from all over the country to pay homage to the deceased. There will be food carts selling food everywhere, and visiting a grave will be as lively as attending a carnival.
Mencius said: "Keeping one's health is not a big deal, but giving up one's life can be a big deal." The local overseas Chinese took their view of life and death to the extreme, regarding death as life.
More than a hundred years ago, Lin Wang, an overseas Chinese living in the Philippines, invested in buying this 300-acre land in order to solve the burial problem of non-Catholic Chinese.
In 1941, Japan occupied the Philippines. Yang Guangming, the former Consul General in the Philippines, took the protection of overseas Chinese as his own duty and was unwilling to evacuate the overseas Chinese. In April of the following year, he was taken to Overseas Chinese Yishan by the Japanese invaders and killed. All the librarians were killed at the same time. The overseas Chinese in the Philippines were filled with indignation and established more than 140 underground organizations to resist Japan.
Today, there is a monument in the Overseas Chinese Yishan Cemetery commemorating the overseas Chinese who fought against the Japanese invaders in the Philippines during World War II.
The Chinese have a tradition of returning to their roots after fallen leaves. Overseas Chinese in the Philippines pay great attention to the feng shui and funerals of their ancestors. Unlike other Chinese residences that face north and south, the cemeteries here all face the direction of the motherland, and They will write their family's county title on the plaque on the cemetery door.
That’s how Chinese people are. Even if they go to Southeast Asia to make a living, they still have feelings for their family and country in their hearts.
They hope that the motherland will get better and better, so that they can live a better life.
They have built a bridge between China and the Philippines, and this cemetery is a kind of concrete badge.
The overseas Chinese who went to Nanyang to make a fortune have come back to support the construction of their hometown. Many schools and hospitals in the southern region were built with the aid of overseas Chinese.
An old Filipino overseas Chinese who helped build three schools in his hometown in China said that his favorite song is to go home and listen to it often.