Shenzhen

Tonight I went back my old nest to have dinner with my parents and my brother and his family.

I confirmed not to go to Shenzhen to attend some family matters. My brother and father will go with my uncle. There will be a bunch of relatives going along.

It was a long story. My father inherited a small house (or two?) in Shenzhen (used to be called Bao An). My relatives also owned units of different number and different sizes. We didn't attend to them as the property was "nationalized" by the Communist Party in 50's. My father (and grand father et. al.) came to HK in early 50's. My father told me that we used to have a garden where he could taste different fruits from the trees in summer. Anyway it was a long time ago.

Although we still own the unit, we didn't use them at all. It was rented and the amount is very small. Over the years, the richer relatives and residents built multi-storey units without much centralized planning. Therefore, the place is quite crowded and I would say MESSY.

Having said that, we were told that the units are sort of torn and become dangerous. The place is not allowed to use for residential purpose. In the longer term, they should be torn down and re-developed. Today my father goes with my brother to register the ownership formally. The expectation is that we (my father) will be given a unit once re-developed. However, I don't think it is free at all. I suspect the owners may need to invest.