He first visited his ancestral home in 1997 and has since made more than 30 trips there.

"It was my duty to make sure my ancestors could 'live comfortably' so that they could continue blessing my family and me," he said.

In the past, traveling to China was arduous. Travelers were required to fly to Hong Kong first, before making their way to ancestral villages in rural China. SFCCA's Phua said that Chinese Singaporeans would visit their hometowns in groups to save on transport costs and for company.

He recalled that when he first went to South China's Hainan province in the 1980s with his parents and his wife, his face was covered in dust after a four-hour journey from the airport in Haikou to his hometown, due to the sandy roads.

Improvements to China's roads over the years have shortened the trip to no more than an hour or two, he said. Car rides are now smooth and efficient, a marked change from the bumpy journey he used to take.

Phua said early generations of Chinese braved the grueling journeys not only to see their childhood friends and relatives, but also to show their children what village life had been like before they left for Singapore.

Spotting the trend, travel agencies started offering xun gen tours in collaboration with clan associations, he noted.