As the Year of the Horse nears, president Ma Wai Tak and vice president Ma Leung Ho of the Association of Ma Clansmen of Sar Chung coincidentally returned to their ancestral Shachong Village in Zhongshan's South District. Nestled for nearly 900 years, the village earned its name from sandy streams beside it and was once called "Ma Family Village" for its dominant Ma-surname residents.

▲Ma Ying Piu Memorial Park. (File photo by Ming Jian)

The two visited revitalized landmarks including the former Shachong School, Ma Zaiming Memorial Hall and Enzhong Hall  as well as the newly built Ma Leshan Cartoon Model Memorial Square, and discussed future plans with villagers. "All association members share the Ma surname. We aim to develop our hometown," Ma Wai Tak's plain words captured the century-spanning devotion of Hong Kong compatriots to their roots.

In 1915, Ma Ying Piu, Ma Wing Chan and Ma Cho Yung, founders of China's first modern department store Sincere, established the association in Hong Kong. They bought property for gatherings and lodging, igniting the clan's support for hometown development. Four generations later, this tradition of ancestral reverence and hometown love remains unbroken.