Kaiping to Me

I’ve found myself in Kaiping—a speck of a city in southern China, two hours from Guangzhou, known more for the people who’ve left it than the ones who’ve stayed. One suspects the place never quite recovered from its most brilliant export: the huáqiáo, or returning overseas Chinese, who came back with foreign educations, expensive suits, and enough money to build themselves European-style watchtowers—diāolóu, they’re called—by the dozen.

These towers, inspired by overseas architecture, were built in the early 20th century to protect families during the warlord era, a perilous time. Perched in rice fields or tucked behind banyans, they rise with all the self-importance of minor aristocrats—part refuge, part declaration. Some have secret exits. Most have iron bars. Their now ruinous states adds to a fascinating first impression.

It was among these peculiar towers that I arrived, not to escape warlords, but to play pretend. I’m here shooting a television series set in 1941 Hong Kong and Macau—back when the Empire of Japan was making its grim tour of Asia and the British were still clinging to illusions - just. I play Mary Jones, a British Navy Lieutenant’s wife in Hong Kong during the surrender to the Japanese in 1941. I’ll leave her fate a mystery for now, but suffice it to say, she escapes to Macau as a refugee. Macau during this time was a neutral port, allowing China, Britain and Japan to operate side by side, therefore a hotspot for gathering intelligence and transporting strategic goods to war-torn China. I highly recommend both Wartime Macau by Geoffrey Gunn and The Lone Flag by John Reeves for further reading.

Of course, the hotel wasn’t nestled among baroque diāolóu but next to a roaring highway with trucks rumbling by, carrying hidden goods and livestock around the clock. My neighbours are car mechanics and wholesale stores selling faucets and tiles. Romance is always more glamorous in hindsight. Still, it turned out to be a decent place for continuing to work on the script. I was lucky enough to receive it a month in advance, so I’d already translated my scenes, created a guidebook in both English and Chinese, punching my lines into my brain, perfecting every Chinese tone to the best of my ability and diving deep into my character.

My character was largely added for dramatic effect—though very good drama! The reality might have been just as interesting, but due to the nature of the time and circumstances of intrigue, many details are hidden between code names and scrambled messages—never to be known to the public. Nevertheless, I managed to track down a Mrs Joy Wilson who shares a lot of similarities to my dear Mary. By sheer coincidence, I originally named her “Mary Wilson” in my notes before her last name was assigned.

Transforming into Mary took two full days of fittings and hair/makeup. Her hair was a focal point—I had dyed it to a striking shade of blonde for the role, and the crew continues to tame it into various 1940s styles despite the humidity’s best efforts. I had a number of costumes for her “society” looks in Hong Kong and her refugee outfits in Macau. I actually preferred her Macau costumes, made from hand-me-down men’s clothes—the results were quite special.

My first day of shooting took place not far from the diāolóu I had visited earlier in the week as a tourist in Chikan Ancient Movie Town—once a functioning village, now a set— and was on that day, designed to resemble the backstreets of Macau. The set felt authentic, with people selling goods and carrying buckets of water and grain. It went well, and I felt very grateful for my co-actors, the director, and the crew, as the atmosphere was playful and amicable.

A month has passed since that first day, and I’ve become quite familiar with Kaiping, Mary, and chángfěn (delicate rice noodle rolls). In my off-hours, I’m working on other work and making sure I’m stay on top of my lines. I've treated myself to an oversized purple orchid for my hotel room, which I can't see to keep happy. I plan to keep exploring the area—Liyuan Gardens, for example, is a great spot for diāolóu sightseeing and history. And then when I get the chance, I’ll renew my expiring Chinese driver’s license so it will be issued locally here in Kaiping. Not that l use it much, but I think it will be a nice memento when I join the rest of the huáqiáo souls who look back on Kaiping as a fond memory.