Chinese surnames are an important part of Chinese culture and heritage. While in the big cities there are so many surnames it is virtually impossible to trace one's family roots simply based on the surname, in the countryside there are often entire villages where everybody has the same surname...kinda reminds you of Blazing Saddles...The town of Guiyang is broken into three parts. This is the part where the Li's (Melody's mother's surname; "Lee" in most English translations) live. The Li's are known as the farmers in Gaiyang, and build their houses in a more traditional style, out of wood.