“Kuliang Friends” Share a Family Banquet with Local Residents
“Kuliang Friends” share a family banquet with local residents
A table full of home-cooked dishes embodies warmth and heartfelt togetherness
The Guo Xiangdeng family shared a family banquet with the Trimbles. (Photo by Reporter Lin Shuangwei)
The moonlight over Kuliang shone as brightly as it did a century ago, but the faces beneath it had changed—from Lydia Trimble to Gordon Trimble and the Guo Xiangdeng family. On the evening of June 22, this special family reunion was filled with warmth and cherished memories.
The Guo Xiangdeng family raised a toast to welcome the Trimbles. (Photo by Reporter Lin Shuangwei)
Gordon Trimble is the great-grandnephew of Lydia Trimble. During this visit, he returned to what was once his family’s home—now the residence of Guo Xiangdeng in Yixia Village. According to the Kuliang Handbook, Lydia Trimble’s former villa was located at No. 248, Yixia Village, the same address where Guo Xiangdeng now lives. Guo Xiangdeng shared that his grandfather once worked as a porter in Kuliang. He carried sedan chairs for foreigners who came up the mountain to escape the summer heat.
Kuliang cucumbers, appetizing pickled radish, chayote, sweet potato leaves… The family banquet took place in the courtyard of Guo Xiangdeng’s home. To make the Trimbles feel truly at home, Guo Xiangdeng’s son Liu Chuan and daughter-in-law Xue Meiqing prepared a special meal using fresh ingredients straight from their own garden.
Michael Phyllis (second from left) and Josh Adams (far right), descendants of the Billing family, were making yuanxiao together with Kuliang residents. (Photo by Reporter Yuan Hao)
Elyn Maclnnis was making dumplings at the home of Kuliang resident Guo Qing. (Photo by Reporter Chen Nuan)
“My father used to swim in the pond beside the house. He truly loved this place,” said Gordon Trimble. His grandfather, Garnet Trimble, and his father, Robert Trimble, both studied and worked at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, USA. Fuzhou and Tacoma officially established a sister-city friendship on November 16, 1994. Since then, Robert Trimble and Gordon Trimble have played an active role in fostering exchange and cooperation between the two cities, especially in the field of education.
Gordon Trimble shared that his great-grandaunt, Lydia Trimble, arrived in China at the age of 26 and went on to found several schools, including Yuzhen Girls’ Junior High School (which later became Fuqing No. 2 Middle School) and Hwa Nan Women’s Liberal Arts College (the predecessor of Hwa Nan Women’s College), giving countless girls the chance to pursue an education.
“I learned to use chopsticks when I was just five, at a Chinese restaurant back in the U.S.,” said Gordon Trimble. Growing up in a poor family, he often ate Chinese food because it was more affordable, especially before he turned ten. His wife, Sonia, is an American of Chinese descent with family roots in Fujian. After retiring in 2005, they moved to Fuzhou, where he went on to teach at Hwa Nan Women’s College.
The owner of Liangxi Shanyuan in Kuliang served Guobianhu (a Fuzhou traditional snack) to Gail Harris. (Photo by Reporter Zheng Shuai)
In traditional Chinese culture, family banquets hold deep significance, symbolizing status, rituals, and heartfelt connections. Often called “reunion dinners” or “family gatherings,” these meals bring people together around the table. Gordon Trimble and his wife chatted with Liu Chuan and Xue Meiqing in a warm and joyful atmosphere.
After the meal, Liu Chuan and Xue Meiqing gifted the Trimbles a selection of local specialties — the “Four Treasures of Kuliang” (sweet potatoes, white radishes, haicai, and chayote), along with yellow rice cakes. “It’s just a little token of our regard. We hope it can help you remember the flavors of Kuliang,” they said. The two families then came together for a group photo to capture the memorable moment.
Gordon Trimble said the family banquet touched him deeply, evoking the harmonious times from a century ago when foreigners and locals lived together peacefully in Kuliang.
Descendants of the Billing family attended the family banquet in Kuliang. (Photo by reporter Yuan Hao)
On the evening of the 22nd, after the 2024 Kuliang Chinese-style afternoon tea exchange, local residents warmly invited the “Kuliang Friends” to their former family homes to share the joy of traditional Chinese cooking.
Wang Xiaojing prepared a jasmine-scented fresh shrimp dish for Lee Gardner. (Photo by Reporter Bao Hua)
Lee Gardner is the grandnephew of Milton Gardner, the central figure in the “Kuliang Story.” On the evening of the 22nd, he “returned home” together with Wang Xiaojing, the hostess of Xiangyue Yunshe Inn, for a family banquet. During the banquet, Wang Xiaojing prepared a jasmine-scented fresh shrimp dish, a local Fuzhou specialty, especially for him.
Actually, when Lee Gardner visited Kuliang last year, he brought jasmine tea as a gift for Wang Xiaojing and her family. “This dish is my way of returning the gesture,” Wang Xiaojing said. “I hope it leaves him with warm memories.” (Fuzhou Evening News Reporter: He Jiayuan, Wang Guanghui)