Jun Xiang had to be on stage this evening. Therefore I did not wake him up. I went to take some pictures outside the hotel.

The hotel	we stayed
Residential estates	opposite the hotel

Jun Xiang did not come for breakfast. I told the waiter that I would take some foods to the room for Jun Xiang. The waiter gave me two boxes to keep the foods. I took only a box of foods. The waiter then packed for me. When I went back to the room. I found there were two pairs of chopsticks. The waiter was very considerate. Jun Xiang woke up at after ten o'clock. He took the breakfast and went to bed again. Oh, my goodness. It was not easy to be a stage player.

We went to HuiRu Theatre after lunch.
When we reached the theatre, I found that was the building I found in the map of the 3D Net. It was the Guangdong Teochew Opera Institute.

Some of our guest performers were taking their lunch at the theatre.

Our choir did not performed well when we had our shows in Singapore. Hence, we engaged some local Teochew artists to assist in the choir. The choir is a very special feature for Teochew opera to have many people singing together approaching the end of the artist's singing.

We also engaged some young ladies to be the dancers for the show. They played the part of the maids. They had to be familiar with the stage within two to three days. It was a difficult job.

We could not have the full rehearsal as there was short of time. I went out of the theatre to take pictures.

Within and	outside the theatre
The choir	The director

As I had to carry out my duty this evening, I took my dinner as soon as it was delivered to us.

After that, I helped to set up a table for our members to display and sell the VCD we brought from Singapore. There were two entrances. I requested two local female workers at one of the entrances to help me in distributing the leaflets. I then requested the male workers at the other entrance to do so. He told me that his duty was to make sure the audiences holding valid tickets and not distributing leaflets.

My friends Dizi and Lao Chen

I received a phone call from Dizi. He and Lao Chen had already in the theatre. I went to meet them at the courtyard.
It was delight to meet Dizi and Lao Chen. I have come to know then at one of the Teochew Opera websites since 2003. I saw their pictures in the forum of the website. I now meet them face to face.

Before arriving in China, I received the e-mail from Dizi. He planned to take his mother from Shenzhen to Shantou. When I met Teacher Danhong, she said that she gave Dizi two tickets of our performance. Therefore I assumed that Dizi would meet me with his mother and got ready a gift for him. When I saw Lao Chen, I was wondered what gift I shall give him. I then changed my list of persons who were received my gifts.

Lao Chen and Dizi knew the theatre well. If I knew it earlier, I would invite Zexiong to come and get Dizi to take him into the theatre.

We talked about the forum.
There were issues which I did not like to discuss openly. I then told them about my thinking. I was ever disappointed with some of the discussions in the forum and left. But I was back again because Teacher Danhong reminded me that we knew each other through the forum.
Thanks Dizi and Lao Chen for maintaining the website and forum for many years. They were promoting the Teochew Opera.

Dizi showed me the award he received at the Teochew Opera Festival. It was awarded for the maintenance of the website. I was very happy that their effort and support from many friends was finally recognised. I told Dizi to make an announcement in the forum. He should also thank those assistants and supporters for their effort.

Dizi, Lao Chen and the director

Dizi, Lao Chen and the author

Artist Lin Jia

When I met Lin Jia in Singapore, I told him that I would like to visit his mother, a veteran Teochew Opera performer, when we were in Shantou. Lin Jia came to see us in the evening on 10 November. After attending the interview by Jin Yu, it was too late to go to Lin Jia's home. As we had our performance this evening, Lin Jia's mother came and watched the show. I met her at the entrance.

I first met Lin Jia in the Singapore Chinese Opera Institute few years ago when I visited Teacher Cai Bi Xia. I only asked about his name but did not talk to him. After joining Jityang Huay Kwan Teochew Opera Group last year, I met Lin Jia at our committee meeting. He told me that his mother was also a Teochew Opera artist. Then I said that I would like to meet her when we attended the Teochew Opera Festival in Shantou.

When I was collecting and editing some articles for the souvenir magazine of our show "Stone Decocting" last year, I read his brief introduction. It was concise and very well written. I was very surprised and happy because I needed to amend only one word. I watched the rehearsals and found that he sang and performed very well. In order to do the promotion of the show, I took his acting and told him that I would publish it in the Internet. He was more than willing and made my life easy.

Hui Lao Shi

I informed Hui Lao Shi that I would be in Shantou weeks before our departure. He had to attend the celebration of his school's anniversary on 11 November. He also had to work on the following day. Hence, we could only meet on 12 November evening. That was the third time we met since year 2004. I had to carry out my duty at the stage. Therefore when we met in HuiRu Theatre, we did not have much time to chat.

I brought Hui Lao Shi to meet Teacher Lin Hui Zhu at the backstage. Hui Lao Shi was one of the two authors who contributed article for our souvenir magazine of "Stone Decocting".

After the show, I went to the theatre to meet Dizi, Lao Chen and Hui Lao Shi. Hui Lao Shi introduced a friend Qiao Yi Gui, who was the New Star discovered by him. As I had to help doing the packing, I could not spend much time with them.

With Lin Jia's mother

Dizi, Hui Lao Shi and Qiao Yi Gui

It was the first time I carried out my duty on stage after arriving in Shantou. I told Sister Yue Li that the subtitle system should be managed by the local expert. The system used was different from that in Singapore. Besides, how could I handle press relations if I had to stick to the system? There were also many of my friends from different cities gathered in Shantou in order to meet me.

Although Sister Yue Li was busy and wished I could help. But there were duties which were not easy for me to handle. I did not say out. I almost fell from the platform when I went to remind the Head of the musicians Teacher Lin that there would be a break.

After the show and before our next show in Jieyang, I told Sister Yue Li not to assign me any duty which needed to climb the stairs.

I carried a bag which contained many copies of DVD and souvenir magazines to the theatre. Those were the gift for my friends. I placed it in the backstage. In order not to cause any inconvenient, I moved it from one location to another. There was one time Jun Xiang saw me carrying the bag; he asked whether I was going home.

I knew that he was serious. I dared not to joke and just answered, "No."

In fact, I thought of going home everyday. But we handled our passports to the coordinator when arriving in Shantou. I was not keen to come when my son decided to withdraw. I requested Sister Yue Li to arrange for me single room. But I was worry that I might not be able to look for help if needed at night. She finally arranged Jun Xiang to share room with me.

I do not like to share room with elders. Although I always told people that I was quite old, but I wondered I was really that old. I ever asked my mother that how come my Birth Certificate was issued many years after I was born. She said it was like that.

The first night when I was with Jun Xiang, I was very caution. I did not talk much. I was afraid of sharp tongue. I did not wish to hear any critical speaking as I had the intention of going home. After talking with Jun Xiang for a few days, I found him an easy-going man. This morning I brought the breakfast to the room for him. When he woke up to eat, the breakfast was not warm anymore. He did not make noise. He just finished the breakfast and went to bed again.

When he asked me whether I was going home at the backstage this evening, it made me ease the strong thinking of going home.