WANGFUJING SHOPPING STREET

Another day of sleeping in!  Today we all decided to go to Wangfujing Shopping Street which is a 15-20 minute walk from the hotel.  David, Betty and the twins took a cab.  It is like a night market with stalls and stalls of vendors’ goods.  The street is sectioned off from traffic for shoppers.  It was a fun day.  Everyone bought something.  The girls all now have panda caps and watches.  Madi bartered for key chains and a pokemon card game.

Aubrey found food stalls and we actually saw skewers and skewers of...UGH...scorpions, sea horses, starfish, tarantulas and grubs.  Other than that, the other food stalls actually looked and smelled good.

One more day...we’re almost going home! 

MADI’S CORNER:

SILK MARKET

Aaahhh...we were able to sleep in this morning!  Today and tomorrow are free days.  The Nottinghams and Lais shared 2 taxis to go to Silk Street.  Donna, Katie and the 3 of us shared a cab.  We were told they will only take up to 4 in a cab but we were able to get one that took the 5 of us.  Taxis are cheap in China.  The ride took 15-20 minutes and cost us $6 including tip.

Silk Street (also known as the Silk Market or Xiu Shui Jie in Chinese) is a prosperous shopping market in Beijing. It is now regarded as one of the symbols of Beijing together with the Great Wall, the Summer Palace and roast duck.  Many foreign visitors, including some celebrities, enjoy Silk Street for shopping or having their clothes tailor-made.  It is a large building with 6 floors and offers everything from clothing, traditional handicrafts, calligraphy, carpets, paintings, watches, electronics, musical instruments, toys, jewellery and trinkets.  It has changed since we were there in 2006.  The stalls were basically booths and some were only separated by wooden walls or just draperies.  Now, it has been renovated and the stalls are rebuilt with glass partitions throughout.  It looks a little more upscale.  The bartering is the same.  They try to get you in to look at their products.  You ask how much, they punch in their “asking” or “starting” price on a calculator.  You say “too much”.  They say “give me your best price”.  You go down to 1/5 of their asking price and they say “you’re killing me”!  You start to walk away and they call you back...and eventually you settle on a price that makes each person happy.  Madi was super happy.  She bought a watch, a panda wallet and an inner painted snuff bottle (panda drawing of course).  I bought some scarves and a t-shirt for myself.  Aubrey didn’t buy anything although he was looking at watches and wallets.  Katie and Madi were playing with an Er Hu (Chinese violin).  Donna bought one for Katie.  Grace bought one for Olivia.

The trek back to the hotel was an experience.  We tried to hail a cab but not one stopped for us.  The private taxis were available but we were told not to take them as they are very expensive.  We tried jumping into several but were waved away because there are 5 of us and they can only take 4.  A parking security guard was yelling at one of the cabs we were trying to get into.  They were literally standing off and yelling.  We walked away.  We are guessing that the cab was not supposed to take us or he was not supposed to be in the parking area.  Eventually, Aubrey ran to a cab that was letting off a customer.  He took us...at last...thank goodness.  Grace told us later that we had to go to the back entrance of Silk Market to get cabs.  The ride back to the hotel cost $5 including tip.

 

CLOISONNÉ FACTORY, GREAT WALL OF CHINA, JADE FACTORY, SILK FACTORY & OLYMPIC VILLAGE

We were up and at ‘em and on the bus at 8:00 (getting pooped).  Our first visit is to a Cloisonné factory.  Cloisonné is a famous traditional enamel ware or enamel art and considered a traditional Chinese art form.  It is made within a complex manufacturing process, including inlaying thin gold threads or copper wires into various patterns, hammering the base, inlaying copper strips, soldering, filling with enamel, firing enamel, polishing, gilding and adhering enamels of various colors to copper molds.  There is a great variety of products, such as vases, jars, bowls, plates and wall pictures. Cloisonné is one of the famous arts and crafts of Beijing.

Our next visit is to the Great Wall.  This is one of the highlights of the trip that Madison has been waiting for.  The Great Wall shows the Chinese people’s resolve and manpower to build such an astonishing military border. The Wall is over 5,000 miles long and passes through 10 Chinese provinces.  They also share human sacrifice.  Countless lives were lost in the process and no part of the Wall was forgiving.  It is known as “the world’s longest cemetery” by the locals.  It is estimated to have claimed the lives of over 1,000,000 people.  The Great Wall has many sections but the most famous and visited are the Mutianyu and Badaling sections.  We went to the Mutianyu section and took the cable car up the mountain.  I can’t remember which section we visited back in 2006 (will have to check).  Mutianyu (moo-tyen-yoo) meaning “Admire Fields Valley” is the longest restored section open to tourists.  Construction on this section of the Wall began during the Northern Qi Dynasty between the years 550-577 which makes it older than Badaling.  Mutianyu was very important to guarding the capital city and the imperial tombs.  Mutianyu is less crowded and has better architecture than at Badaling, with more watchtowers.  Mutianyu has 22 watchtowers.  We stepped onto the Wall and the view is unbelievable.  It would have been more stunning if there wasn’t so much fog.  The walk to each tower varied.  Some sections were very easy to walk and some were steep and had us huffing and puffing.  Perhaps we will return to China again one day and visit the other sections of the Great Wall.

We had a quick lunch on the 2^nd floor of the Run‑Ze Jade Garden.  After lunch, we went downstairs to the main showroom.  We watched jade being carved and were given a brief lesson on the various jades.  We were left on our own to “shop”.  Each of us were followed by a sales person.  I looked at jade bracelets.  I was shown a couple of Grade B jade bracelets and then I was shown a Grade A bracelet.  Everything paled by comparison after seeing this bracelet.  It was a white bracelet with various shades of emerald green jade as well as pale lavender.  The price for this bracelet was US$2,500.  But, of course, I get a “special” price.  We got it down to $1,250.  Aubrey went back for a last bid at $800.  The manager said $1,200.  Aubrey said no...the manager said “bye bye”.

We stopped at the Beijing Dong Ru Silk Museum.  It is not a museum...more like a store.  They showed us how silk is made.  The prices are fixed.  They insisted that their work and prices are guaranteed and that they have the best quality and best price...so...no bargaining.  I did not want to buy anything but Madi saw the “cheong sum” which is a Chinese silk dress and really wanted one.  What can we say...she chose a blue one.

Last stop...drive by the Olympic Village – home of the 2008 Olympic Games.  We saw the National Stadium known as the Bird’s Nest and the National Aquatics Center known as the Water Cube.  We also saw a hotel that was built in the shape of a dragon!

End of our excursions!  A quick dinner and off to bed.

 

MADI’S CORNER (to follow...hard for Madi to keep up when we have so little time)

TIANANMEN SQUARE, FORBIDDEN CITY, HUTONG TOUR BY RICKSHAW & BEIJING ANCIENT OBSERVATORY

Sleep is getting harder to come by.  Another early rise...a full day tour today.  We had our usual buffet breakfast.  We met our guide Zhao and we were dropped off at the beginning of Tiananmen Square.  It is one of the largest city squares in the world and named after the Tiananmen gate (Gate of Heavenly Peace).  It is best known or famous for the pro-democracy movement protests of 1989 which ended on June 4, 1989 with the declaration of martial law by the government and the death of several hundred civilians.  Cars and buses are not allowed through.  It was a half an hour walk to the building.  Chairman Mao’s picture is on the front of the building.  We passed through the Tiananmen Gate and headed towards the Forbidden City also known as the Palace Museum.  It was built in the Ming Dynasty between 1406 to 1421 and was the imperial palace for 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties.  Two lions guard the front of the Palace to ward off evil.  It is divided into two parts. The southern section, or the Outer Court, was where the emperor exercised his supreme power over the nation. The northern section, or the Inner Court, was where he lived with his royal family.




Next up was a Rickshaw ride in a Hutong Village.  We sat two to a rickshaw.  Aubrey and Madison rode together while I sat with one of the twins, Alicia.  It was so much fun.  Hutongs are types of narrow streets or alleys.  In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of siheyuan, traditional courtyard residences.  Many neighbourhoods were formed by joining one siheyuan to another to form a hutong, and then joining one hutong to another. The word hutong is also used to refer to such neighbourhoods.  Our ride was in a hutong village located between the Bell Tower and Drum Tower (the Shichahai Area).  We were dropped off for lunch at a local resident’s home where she prepared a home cooked meal.  It was simple but delicious.  All four of our girls enjoyed the braised beef and potato dish.  After lunch, the owner’s niece demonstrated painting inside a glass snuff bottle.  Our Rickshaws came back to give us a ride back to our bus.

We stopped off at the Beijing Ancient Observatory.  It was built in 1442 during the Ming Dynasty.  It is one of the oldest observatories in the world.  There are several astronomical instruments on display such as an Armillary Sphere for determining the coordinates of celestial bodies and a Celestial Globe to determine the time in which the celestial bodies will rise and set as well as the altitude and azimuth of them at any given time.  Grace is a science teacher and she was ecstatic checking out the observatory.

We went for a Peking Duck dinner at a restaurant called Beh Ee Fang.  We dined in a private elegant room.  We had Peking Duck served with crepes, duck soup, Spicy Salt Shrimp, Deep Fried Pork with Sesame Seeds, Eggplant and meat stir fry.  There were many more dishes and it was a fabulous meal.

After dinner, we went to a watch a kung fu show called “The Legend of Kung Fu”.  The story is narrated by an old monk and is about a young boy who dreams of becoming a Kung Fu master and attain enlightenment. He takes the path of a monk in which he must face many obstacles both from this world and his own mind to overcome his fears and to become a true master of Kung Fu.  He is given the name Chun Yi (the pure one).  He studies Zen and Kung Fu very hard.  Years go by and he becomes a young man.  After many years of training, his body turns to iron.  Chun Yi chases a beautiful fairy he has created in his mind and hence cannot continue with his Buddhist practice.  He loses his way and suffers great remorse.  Passing through the temple gate is a glorious ritual for a monk.  Chun Yi must accomplish this final task to become a warrior monk.  He accomplishes this and his old master passes on the stave and Chun Yi becomes the Abbot.  As the old monk finishes narrating, it turns out it is Chun Yi who is telling his story. What a great show as it presented stunning Kung Fu skills, exquisite ballet and music.

Time to say good night.

MADI’S CORNER:  (delayed...on its way)

TANG DYNASTY ARTS MUSEUM...LEAVING XI’AN

We had breakfast at our hotel.  While we were eating, we noticed a group of strong sturdy serious men eating and wandering throughout the restaurant.  It turns out that they are Michelle Obama’s Security Detail.  The First Lady is flying in to Xi’an to see the Terracotta Warriors.  How exciting!

We decided not to go to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda as we only had the morning free before catching our afternoon flight to Beijing.  We all agreed to just visit the Tang Dynasty Arts Museum.  It is the first museum focused on one particular dynasty in China.  The Tang Dynasty is one of the most important dynasties and is considered the “Golden Age” of progress and stability.  We saw different drawings and art, including calligraphy, puppets made from animal skin, and paper art created by just scissors.  We all sat down for a lesson in Chinese calligraphy.  Our museum guide, Laura, showed us the ancient form of writing and today’s modern form of writing using the Chinese brush and black ink.  The girls enjoyed the calligraphy writing.  We all purchased a drawing made by students.  Some of the money will go back to the students.

After the museum, we went straight to the airport.  We had lunch at a restaurant in the airport.  Then we said our goodbyes to our guide, Neil, and our tour operator, Gabriel.  We will miss Gabriel...but I’m sure we’ll see him again back home.  He works in Richmond.

Our flight to Beijing was about 1 hour and 45 minutes.  We landed and met with our Beijing guide, Mr. Zhao.  We are to call him “Zhao”.  We checked into our hotel and are having problems with the air‑conditioning.  Poor David.  He cannot handle the heat.  We had a quick dinner and retired early.

MADI’S CORNER:

I had to wake up at 6:30.  I was going to try doing calligraphy!  Also today we are going to Beijing and leaving the Hilton (our hotel).  The Hilton was a wonderful hotel!  I had breakfast and surprisingly my family was the 1^st one there.  After eating, we had to get our suitcases ready.  It was like a 30 minute ride so half an hour.  The calligraphy place was super cool.  They had lots of pictures and some sculptures.  After we looked around, we got to try writing some Chinese characters.  The kids got to draw anything they wanted.  There were paintings you could buy.  I got a panda picture.  It had fluffy, furry, fuzzy pandas.  Then we went to the airport to have lunch.  Then we said goodbye to Neil and Gabriel.  Gabriel was heading to Hong Kong.  There was a security check too!  On the plane, I played on my DSI, slept, looked out the window and played on our tablet.  I played Plants vs. Zombies 2 on my tablet and on my DSI.  Once we were off the plane, we got our luggage and met our guide.  Our guide’s name is Zhao.  You pronounce it Jao.  Our driver is Mr. Lou.  Just like our first driver with Windy.  Our luggage was put into a small bus.  The bus that we were riding on had blue seats.  Zhao told us a bit about his city Beijing.  At the hotel, the kids played ninja.  I joined in for a few rounds too!  We got our cards a bit mixed up.  When all that was done we went to our new rooms.  The hotel we are staying at is called the Capital Hotel.  When we unpacked a bit, we/my family agreed to have dinner with Katie downstairs.  I ordered a hamburger.  Katie ordered a chicken burger to share with her mom.  My mom (Susan/Auntie Sue) had a grilled cheese sandwich and my dad (Aubrey/Uncle Aubrey) had a clubhouse sandwich.  All of those came with fries, except Aubrey’s.  It took like half an hour (30 minutes) for the food to come.  The food was super-duper delicious.  When dinner was done, we said good night and went to bed in our new beds.  In my room there is a king size bed and a cot.  Good nite!  P.S.  I do actually know how to spell “night”.

BANPO MUSEUM, TERRACOTTA WARRIORS, DUMPLING DINNER & TANG DYNASTY SHOW

Zhao!  (Good Morning)  Cher le ma?  (Have you eaten?)  Famous words in the morning!

After breakfast, we drove to the Banpo Neolithic Museum where it displays the remains of a 6,000 year old village.  At that time, the Banpo people used tools made primarily of wood and stone. Women, the crucial labor force, were responsible for making pottery, spinning and raising the family, while men fished.  The village was divided into three main sections:  the living section, the pottery making section and the burial section.  Among the ruins, there are 46 houses, 2 animal pens, 200 cellars, 6 pottery kilns, 174 adult tombs, 73 burial jars for children and thousands and thousands of production tools and utensils.

Next stop is to a Factory where they make replicas of the Terracotta Warriors.  We watched people mold the clay and shape the figures.  We were shown the kiln in which they fire the figures.  We also watched lacquer furniture being made.  Beautiful art work but expensive.  We were given a lesson on how to differentiate between the status of the Warriors.  There is the Emperor, a 5 Star General, an Officer, an Infantry Man and a Kneeling Archer.  Donna purchased a set of these for Katie.  Madison was happy to buy one figure – the Emperor (for show and tell in her class).  Grace bought some magnets.  Her mom, Betty, bought a drawing.  David was a shrewd negotiator as he bargained his way to purchase a 3-D Terracotta glass display (like a hologram).

The highlight of today’s tour is the visit to see the Terracotta Warriors.  The site is huge and is divided into buildings:  Pit 1, Pit 2 and Pit 3.  Pit 1 is a rectangular pit.  There are over 6,000 terra cotta warriors and horses in Pit 1, of which 1,000 have been unearthed.  Pit 2 is L‑shaped.  The combat formations in Pit 2 are more complex, and the units of armed forces are more complete. According to preliminary calculations, there are over 80 war chariots, about 1,300 TC Warriors and horses, and thousands of bronze weapons. It is a revelation to first discover the Terracotta general, the kneeling archer and the warrior with saddle horse in the pit. According to our guide, Neil, only one TC Warrior is intact – the Kneeling Archer.  The rest have been pieced back together.  Unfortunately, the TC Warriors were all fired first and then painted.  Today, the colour is faded away.  Except the Archer which has some yellow and red colour at the lower back of his uniform.  Pit 3 is built in the shape of the Chinese character "凹".  It is believed that this was the Command Center or Headquarters.  The unearthed artifacts include 68 TC Warriors, four horses and one chariot. 

The TC Warriors were found quite by accident in 1974.  Farmers were trying to dig a well.  They dug 5 meters deep and came upon a lot of pieces...mostly faces.  They ran away as they thought it was unlucky and evil.  Only one farmer stayed behind because that piece of land they were digging on belonged to him.  He picked up a hat of the TC Warrior and took it to the government.  Many archaeologists were called in to excavate.  There should be over 8,000 life size TC Warriors and horses.  These were built in the Qin Dynasty which was ruled by the 1^st  Emperor, Qin Shi Huang.  He was a terrible man and killed many people.  When the 1^st Emperor died, the people rebelled.  They went to the tomb and destroyed all the TC Warriors and horses.  Then they burned the wood roof and wooden chariots.  The roof collapsed and the dirt filled in and no one knew where the TC Warriors were until 1974. 

After the farmer reported the finding, the government took back the land.  In China, you don’t own land.  He was given another piece of land and a reward of 10 Yuan ($2 in today’s currency) which was a lot of money back then.  He was very happy but his wife made him give back the reward as a respectful thing to do.  From 1974 to 1980, nothing changed for the farmer.  In 1980, China opened up to tourists.  His life changed.  Everyone wanted to know what became of the farmer!  He got a job to sit in the museum.  The museum allowed him to autograph for tourists but was not allowed to charge for it.  However, tourists must purchase a book before he can autograph it of which a very small portion is given to the farmer.  The farmer’s name is Yang Xin Man (Yang Shin Man) and is 72 years old now.  We bought a book and got his autograph!

We came back to the hotel to quickly freshen up and then on to our “Dumpling Dinner”  We had several cold plates and a pot of soup to start.  We were then served several dishes of dumplings – fish, pork, ham, shrimp, etc.  The fish dumpling was shaped as a fish, the pork dumpling was shaped as a pig...very artistic.  After dinner, we watched the Tang Dynasty Show.  The performers dressed in ancient attire and sang and danced.  One of the dances was “Spring Outing”.  Gabriel said it was his favourite and said he was going to perform in it.  We watched attentively and tried to pick him out of the group of dancers.  In the end, we learned he was pulling our leg!

It was a busy and exhausting day.  We were all ready for bed.

P.S.  Happy birthday to my brother, Dan! 

 

 

 

MADI’S CORNER:

I ate breakfast at the buffet downstairs.  Today we are going to see the Terracotta Warriors.  I wore my jean capris again and my purple jewel shirt.  We went to a museum.  We left and went for a lunch.  For lunch, I ate sweet and sour pork, shrimp chips, vegetables, rice, noodles and cookies.  Later, after lunch, we drove to the Terracotta Warriors museum thing.  I saw some of the different kinds of soldiers.  They were....the Emperor, Kneeling Archer, Standing Archer, 5 Star General, Officer, Infantry.  They also have some horses.  All of the soldiers are 6,000 years old.  The color fades away from the clay soldier within 72 hours when it has oxygen because of the way it is painted.  There are 3 pits – Pit 1, Pit 2 and Pit 3.  All of the soldiers are being repaired or are going to be repaired or already repaired.  All of the soldiers looked magnificent!  The only solder that wasn’t broken was the Kneeling Archer.  It has a bit of red on the back too!  It has some of its color because in its glass box they sucked up all the oxygen out of the tank.  Archeologists are still looking for more pieces today.  I got to look at every pit.  When we left Pit 1 or Pit 2, there was this guy selling some musical stuff.  Like this egg shaped recorder.  You cover the back hole and use your fingers to change the sound on the other holes.  There was also a bird caller.  I got a bird caller and Katie got an egg thing.  There were different sizes for the egg thing.  Katie got the regular size.  After all the pits, it was time to go.  We headed back to the hotel.  We had a dumpling dinner.  The dumplings were so cute.  Some of the dumplings were supposed to be animals.  Like the frog, the pig, the fish and a duck.  I didn’t eat much but I ate just enough to fill me.  After dinner, there was a show because it was a dinner and show.  Gabriel said he was going to perform in the dance “Spring Outing”.  The dancing and music was magical.  Then we just went home.  End of Day!

 

 

LEAVING CHONGQING...NEXT STOP – XI’AN

Our 10:20 flight was cancelled so we are catching the 2:20 flight.  That was fine by us as we got to sleep in a bit.  We had a late breakfast.  Aubrey, Madi and Katie went for a last minute ping pong game.  At 12:00 noon, Windy and Mr. Luo drove us to the airport.  There was a problem with Donna and David’s passports but was eventually sorted out.  We said goodbye to Windy.  Olivia had tears as she had grown attached to her.  The plane ride to Xi’an was only an hour long.  We were met by our new guide, Neil.  During our ride to the hotel, Neil gave us some information on Xi’an:

·         Xi’an is in the Province of Shaanxi.

·         Population of Xi’an is about 8,000,000 people.

·         Xi’an grows wheat and corn.

·         It is famous for noodles and dumplings.

·         Their food is less spicy.

·         It is very ancient with lots of history.

·         Today, farmers still use hands to harvest.  You still see lots of cattle, horses, etc.

·         South Shaanxi has mountains and North Shaanxi has coal, natural gas, oil.

·         Like Chongqing, Xi’an has wild pandas.

·         The Bullet Train from Xi’an to Beijing is very expensive.  It travels at 150 km per hour.

·         All new buildings look the same.  The average apartment is approximately 1,000 sq.ft. which has 2 bedrooms, 1 sitting room, 1 toilet and 1 kitchen.

·         Buried more than 2,000 years ago, the Terracotta Warriors is one of China’s most renowned archeological discoveries.  It is the 8^th Wonder of the World.

·         Xi’an is the terminus of the legendary Silk Road which connected China with the Middle East and Europe.

·         Built more than 600 years ago, the Ancient City Wall marks the centre of Xi’an.  The wall stands 12 meters tall, 18 meters thick and 13.7 meters long.  It is one of the largest ancient military defense systems in the world.

·         The hotel we are staying at (Hilton Xi’an) is located within the Ancient City Wall.  The gates are narrow as they were originally built to allow chariots through.

·         KFC is their most famous dating place!  To impress a girl, you take her there.  David piped up and said in Canada to ditch a girl you take her to KFC (lol).

We checked into our hotel.  It is a grand and beautiful hotel.  We enjoyed an awesome buffet dinner.  The girls befriended a couple of the waitresses.  We are stuffed and ready for bed!

 

 

 

 

MADI’S CORNER:

I woke up at 8:00 because my 10:00 flight was delayed to 2:00.  I couldn’t even get out of bed.  But once my dad mentioned ping pong I sprung up faster than you can say “a Philippine ping pong player pre‑made a pretzel for his pet penguin Perry and his parrot Phil”.  I got dressed, brushed my teeth, put on my shoes.  Then I was ready to go.  Katie and I tried to get a rally but we kept dropping the ball.  We did have one rally.  It was our record!  6 hits.  My dad and my record with him is like 30 or even 40.  Alicia and Olivia came down with their mom, Grace.  We all took turns versing each other.  As soon as you know it our bus came.  We rushed to the lobby and saw everyone sitting with their luggage.  Once we loaded everything on the bus, it was time to go.  The bus ride was fun with all the bumps.  As soon as we got to the airport, we had to say our goodbyes.  All the kids hugged Windy and took a picture with her.  The plane ride to Xi’an was 1 hour and 10 minutes but on the plane it felt quicker.  On the plane, I drank Gatorade and I played on me and my mom’s tablet.  I played PVZ2 a.k.a. Plants vs. Zombies 2.  Our new hotel in Xi’an is the Hilton.  The hotel was awesome.  Our new tour guide is Neil.  It was dinner about 1 hour later.  Olivia made friends with 2 of the waitresses, Rona and Roya.  It was a buffet for dinner.  I got my meal for free because I was under 120 centimeters.  They actually let me off by 3 or 2 centimeters.  The buffet tasted great!  I went back to my room when everyone was done eating.  I went to sleep and that was the END OF THE DAY!

 

 

LEAVING XIUSHAN...BACK TO CHONGQING

Another early rise.  We are leaving at 7:30 am to take that long 5 hour ride back to CQ.  Aubrey and I were happy to have COFFEE this morning at breakfast.  Windy arranged with the hotel to have it ready for us...even if it is instant coffee!  As we left, I saw a pretty and peaceful little town...or perhaps that is just me feeling this way.  Along the highway, we saw lovely farm lands and old homes – all untouched by the progression of modernization.
We had lunch at Chong Qing Xiao Tiane.  Yes, another 10 course lunch!  After lunch, the girls had ice cream from...DAIRY QUEEN.  Aubrey and I found a STARBUCKS next door...heaven!  We met someone from Spokane Washington.  We checked back into the hotel and didn’t bother unpacking.  We will be checking out tomorrow to go to Xi’an.  We are not very hungry as we had a huge late lunch.  The Lais went to the Hong Kong style restaurant around the corner.  At 7:00 pm, we walked around with Donna and Katie.  We found a shopping mall and the girls wanted McDONALD’S.  Aubrey, Donna and I ordered takeout from KFC.  Do you think we miss food from back home?!?

MADI’S CORNER:

I woke up to the sound of a beautiful harp playing!  But it was my alarm clock.  I got dressed, brushed my teeth, then I was ready to go.  There was a 5 hour bus ride waiting for me at 7:30.  We would be back at approximately 2:00 in Chongqing.  The day after that Windy will bring us back to the airport to go to Xian.  Xian is where the Terracotta Warriors are.  When we got back to Chongqing, we had lunch.  Then it was like a 5 minute ride to the hotel.  It felt good being back at the J.W. Marriott even though we were only staying for a day.  Once everyone checked in and got their luggage that was in storage, we all went to our new rooms and unpacked.  The room I was in is 2013.  Katie got my old room.  Then we went swimming all together,  Katie and I went to McDonald’s to have dinner.  My mom and Katie’s mom had KFC.  My dad ate the extra chicken.  I tried some too!  After me and Katie played this “Plants vs Zombies” shoot the zombie game.  I won a lot of marbles.  Katie got 2.  We went back home and played ping pong.  Katie lost the ball up in the roof.  We dropped Katie off at her room.  My dad and me headed back to our room.  I went to sleep dreaming about what we’re going to do tomorrow.  End of day.

Xiushan Orphanage and Hong’an Town

Today is the day (again!).  I am getting excited and full of anticipation.  Aubrey, Madi and I hug each other.  We had breakfast in the hotel.  It was all Chinese food...no western breakfast...and NO COFFEE!  We hopped onto our bus and head to the orphanage.  It is raining hard and it’s cold.  As we approach the orphanage, we see the entrance which we recognize from pictures.  We are met by Mr. Zhen (the accountant) and Mrs. Wu (the administrative staff).  They take us to the 2^nd floor and into one of the rooms.  There before us are the babies.  OMG...I thought we would get a longer tour of the facilities before we see the babies.  There are 3 girls and 1 boy.  We did not meet the 13 year old girl as she is in school.  We met one nanny. We didn’t get a chance to meet the other nanny as she was not expected back until mid-afternoon.  She was one of the original nannies from our adoption.  Baby Xiu Xiu is adorable and smiles a lot.  She is about 1 years old and is being adopted by a family in China.  There is a 3 year old girl who is very small and looks only 1½.  She didn’t smile as much but Gabriel played ball with her and she enjoyed rolling it back to him.  We met the baby boy who was propped up in a basket in a corner.  He is about 6 months old and so cute.  Apparently he has a heart condition.  There was a 7 month old sleeping in the crib.  It appears she has Downs Syndrome.  When she woke up, Gabriel picked her up for awhile.  When she was put back in the crib, she moved her head back and forth as if to say “get me out of this bundle and pick me up again”.  We all took turns holding the babies, including our girls.  Cameras were flashing and pictures were taken.  I held Xiu Xiu.  She laughed and put her head against my head.  She didn’t move...she stayed in that position.  My heart stopped.  The last time that happened, it was 8 years ago when Madi was placed in my arms.  I had flashbacks, goose bumps and tears welled in my eyes.  Then I thought of all the babies that have come through here and my biggest wish is for all of them to have homes.  I wanted to wrap Xiu Xiu up and take her home with us.  It was great to see our girls interacting with the babies.  They played with them, held toys in front of them and I think holding them helped ease any negative thoughts, issues or insecurities there may have been.  It was time to leave.  Goodbye little ones...may each of you be blessed with a family.

We then went on to Hong’an Town...the Old Village.  It is about 300 years old.  It is very pretty and peaceful.  The homes and shops here look ancient.  We walked down to the river which connects the 3 provinces of Chongqing, Hunan and Guizhou (I will have to check on this fact).  We could simply hop on a boat and row across to the Province of Hunan.  We walked further up and stepped into a little shop which had traditional hand made skirts and tops, as well as hand woven and hand crafted cloth drawings.  Windy and Mr. Zhen helped us negotiate.  Grace bought a silk hand stitched top and skirt for Alicia.  Donna bought 2 hand crafted cloths (perhaps batik).  One of them is a rendering of a water buffalo in the farm fields.  Madi picked out a beautiful silk skirt with hand stitched beading.  The owner’s sister who made it is of the Miao minority group.  Apparently the skirt is a traditional skirt from the Tujia minority group.  We all wanted to purchase something to remember Xiushan.

We found a restaurant in Xiushan town centre called Xian Fu Cai (Sheng Foo Tie).  It was the best meal so far...mainly because the dishes were not as spicy.  Madison even had 3 little bowls of rice...with soya sauce poured all over it of course.  After lunch, we drove by a couple of special places.  Our first stop was to Madison’s finding site.  I am not going to mention the actual location due to privacy/personal reasons.  The three of us stepped out and took some pictures.  I must say that I had mixed feelings.  I felt sad but at the same time happy because if it didn’t happen, our precious girl would not be with us.  Next, we stopped at Katie’s finding site which was actually quite close to Madi’s.

What a day it has been!  We are thankful for the kindness and time given to us by the people of Xiushan SWI and the Central Office.  We are grateful to all of the nannies who have cared for our girls.  We also have a special place in our hearts for the birth parents and wish them well.  Most of all, we are thankful for our little one “Madison Taylor Fu Ying Wong”.  Love you baby!

 

 

 

MADI’S CORNER:

Today I wore my navy blue shirt and my navy blue tights and my leather boots.  I woke up at 7:05 exactly because I had to be ready at 9:00 am to go to the orphanage.  I brushed my teeth then went downstairs to have breakfast.  For breakfast, I had some or more like 10 dough balls, some congee and a bite of a salty vegetable dumpling.  We were all done at 20 to 9.  So right now I’m just sitting on my bed waiting for the clock to hit 9.  Although my room doesn’t have a clock, we used my mom’s phone as a clock.  On the bus, I sat beside Katie and we sang songs from Frozen.  When I got to the orphanage, I saw the babies in the cribs.  It brought back many memories of when I was 9 months old and when I was there in those cribs.  I took lots of pictures of the babies.  There used to be about 100 abandoned children but now there were only 5.  Four babies and one 13 year old.  Three girl babies and one boy baby.  One girl was getting adopted by a Chinese family.  All the babies were so cute.  The 13 year old was at school so we didn’t see her.  Next we gave the nannies each a red envelope with money.  Later after we did that so like 2 minutes after we gave the babies gifts.  Once we ate lunch, we went to everybody’s finding place.  So where they were found before they came to the orphanage.  First stop was where I was found.  Auntie Donna, Windy and Gabriel took pictures of us standing there and in my mind while all the cameras were flashing, I was thinking “This is my real family and the people I want to spend the rest of my life with.  This is my home but not where my family lives.”  After the photos, we went to where Katie was found.  After that, we went to Old Town.  I bought a traditional hand made skirt.  When we got back to our hotel, I went to Katie’s room and ate miso soup.  We played stuffies and stuffy fight.  It was dinner time as soon as you know it.  For dinner, I wore my new skirt.  I ate like even more than my lunch.  I ate a lot for lunch.  I had my shower then went to bed.  The next day we are going back to Chongqing.

 

 

Travel to Xiushan

Today is the day!  We woke up and hugged Madison.  We are heading to our girls’ birthplace - Xiushan.  Xiu means beautiful.  Shan means mountain.  I told her it is going to be the most memorable day.  She replied, “No, it’s the 2^nd most memorable day.  The most memorable day was when we became a true family”.  We shared a happy misty-eyed moment.

We were on the bus at 7:30 am.  It was a long bus ride...about 6 hours.  We went through many tunnels.  Xiushan is mountainous and is a very poor area.  Since the highway has been built, it has been better.  Small factories produce tea oil but not for industrial use.  The people speak a Sichuan dialect not Mandarin.  At 1:45 pm, we arrive at Xiushan and crossed the toll booth.  It is drizzling rain.  Windy said there is an old Chinese proverb “when the rain comes, it is welcoming the guests”.  We were met by Mr. Zhou, the Director of the Xiushan Social Welfare Institute (“SWI”) and another man named Mr. Wong.  Mr. Zhou looks the same as he did in 2006.  He has been with the SWI for 20 years.  We followed Mr. Zhou to a restaurant called Bei Yuan Shan Zhuang (North Garden Villa) for lunch.  It was beautiful inside.  There were stunning gardens and several separate buildings which looked like they were built in the ancient Chinese empire days.  We were served another 10 course meal.  I’m enjoying the moment. Here we are sitting with the Director who was in charge of the SWI our girls were from and enjoying a meal cooked in the country side.  We learned that Mr. Zhou has been promoted to a position at the Central Government Office and that Mr. Wong will be the new Director of the Xiushan SWI.  Today is his first day on training.  The orphanage will continue to operate.  Most of the children that go through Xiushan SWI will be sent on to the new central orphanage in Chongqing called Love Garden.  From 2004 to present, the Xiushan SWI has had approximately 500 children adopted through them by many countries.  From 2004‑2006, every year they receive 100 abandoned children (usually girls).  These were high numbers due to many reasons:

·         Families need a boy to help with labour on the farms or fields.  If you have a girl, she will eventually marry which means she belongs to the husband and will go to help his family.

·         Under the birth country’s policy you are allowed to have 2 children.  If your first child is a girl, you can try for a second and hope it is a boy.  If your third child is still a girl, they have to abandon the girl.  There are fines if you are caught abandoning a child.

·         They have to pay fines.  If you do not have enough to pay fines, the government takes back the land, house, water buffalo, pigs, etc.

Since 2011, they receive about 10 children per year.  There are less abandonments now as the government is less strict on enforcing the payment of fines.  Also, more young people move away now to work.

After lunch, we did not visit the orphanage as it was late in the afternoon.  It was decided to reschedule the visit for tomorrow morning which actually works out better for all of us.  We checked into our hotel and met back in the lobby around 5:45 to go for dinner at Huadengzai Village.  We are meeting Mr. Zhou and Mr. Wong for dinner.  We are told that others will be joining us for dinner:  Mr. Gong (Director of the Central Office), Mr. Zhen (the accountant), Mrs. Wu (administrative staff) and Mrs. Xu Kai (the person who named all of our girls).  Windy told us that we are very lucky to have so many join us for this event including the highest official (Mr. Gong) from the Central Office. She said they are very warm-hearted people.  We had a wonderful meal at the lantern restaurant.  As usual, too much food.  After dinner, we asked many questions about the Xiushan SWI, the staff and nannies.  We shared pictures and video clips of the girls with all of them.  We took many pictures.  We also had each of them write on paper a little wish to our girls.  Mr. Zhou wrote “Wish Xiu Fu Ying to grow up happily and have a happy family”.  Mr. Gong wrote “Wish Xiu Fu Ying healthy, happy and more beautiful”.  Mr. Wong wrote “Wish Xiu Fu Ying to be a happy and beautiful bird forever”.  Mrs. Xu wrote “Wish Fu Ying fly higher, further, better and happier”.  Mrs. Wu wrote “Wish Fu Ying beautiful happy forever”. Mr. Zhou said the girls look very cute, very beautiful and healthy.  They thanked us for giving the girls a better life.  They hope that maybe one day when the girls grow up, they will come back and visit again.  We thanked them for their care and love.  They truly are warm-hearted!

 

 

MADI’S CORNER:

I had to wake up at 6:00 because we had to check out of the hotel and come back on Friday.  I was going on a 5 hour bus ride to Xiushan.  For breakfast, I ate pretty quick.  I actually ate pancakes, drank hot chocolate, ate a croissant and all of that was yummy!  I wore my turquoise shirt with the black collar with beads on it and black tights and my leather boots.  The hotel I will be staying at is called the Meng Du Hotel.  Windy said it was one of the best hotels in Xiushan.  On the bus I played on my DSI and read on the Kobo.  When I got to Xiushan it was lunch time...well about 2:00...kinda lunch time.  For lunch it was Chinese food...so countryside food.  I didn’t eat that much for lunch.  We decided that we were going to see the orphanage the next day in the morning.  I met the Director at lunch and I met the soon‑to‑be Director.  After lunch it was like only a second until it was dinner.  For dinner, I had lots of chicken, tofu and soup.  I met all the nannies!  Tomorrow is going to be the 2^nd most important day in my life.  The 1^st most important moment was when I met my true family that I have now!

P.S.  Tomorrow I’m going to the orphanage

 

 

CQ Zoo, Old Town and Eling Park

Today we are going to CQ Zoo, Old Town and Eling Park.  This is the much anticipated visit to the zoo to see the pandas (“shoong meow”).  We are told that there are only 1,200 pandas (including wild) left in the world.  Bamboo is their source of food and the arrow bamboo is their favourite.  Pandas are cute but lazy.  All they do is eat and sleep.  What a life!  Madi is beside herself.  She is running around taking pictures of all the pandas.  Ya Ya is the mother.  She has had 3 children already:  You You who is 8 yrs old, Mang Zai who is 3 yrs old and a baby who is now 7 months old.  I wish I can post some pictures for you all to see but it will have to wait until I get home.

We went for lunch at Chung Huh Hwai Restaurant which served similar dishes to yesterday’s lunch. There were green beans, spicy chicken & chili stir fry, tomato & egg stir fry, pumpkin stir fry and a sweet rice dessert. 

After lunch, we went to Old Town.  It was famous for the production of porcelain.  The majority of the houses date from the Ming and Qing Dynasties.  The streets are narrow and steep.  Today, they are shops that sell souvenirs, gifts, porcelain, tea, food, etc.  Gabriel helped us all barter for our purchases since he speaks Mandarin.  Gabriel Yu is our travel agent from Richmond.  He has joined us on this trip but will leave us when we depart for Beijing.  He will go on to Hong Kong.  I saw shopkeepers make noodles the traditional way.  I will try to describe how they make it based on what I saw.  A scoop of hot slightly thick pasta mixture is poured through a strainer.  The liquid strains through like spaghetti strands and drops into what I think is cold water to keep its shape.  Voila...spaghetti noodles. 

Next we visited the Flying Tigers Museum.  We listened to some aviation war stories.  Then we were introduced to an artist, Mr. Li, who drew a horse using the traditional Chinese ink and brush.  Grace purchased 3 drawings – a horse for David, a Rooster for each of Alicia and Olivia.  Donna purchased a leaf with panda bears on it for Katie.  We were not thinking of buying anything but Madi was eying a panda drawing.  We asked Mr. Li to add a yellow bird to the picture as Madison’s Chinese name (Ying) means bird.  He wrote an inscription in Chinese “Happy Life to Ying Ying”.  A little something from CQ for our girls.  It is starting to hit home as the purpose of our trip is nearing.

Our last stop was to Eling Park.  During the Qing Dynasty, the park used to be a private garden.  It was then given to the government.  Now people come to the park to play cards and mahjong or to take in the view.  The park is high up on the mountain so the view can be breathtaking if it isn’t too foggy.

Back at the hotel, Aubrey took the girls swimming while the rest of us packed for our 2 day trip to Xiushan...where it all began for our girls. It will be an early rise so...good night!

By the way, we may not have WiFi in Xiushan so I may not be able to blog for a couple of days.  There is no Madi’s Corner today as she is behind a day with her journal.  It will be added to this post soon.

MADI’S CORNER

Today I woke up at 6:30 in the morning.  I had a chocolate muffin, pancake, some canteloupe and I drank hot chocolate.  I also had bread and congee.  Today I am going to the Chongqing Zoo!  I wore my jean capris and my yellow cat shirt.  At the zoo I saw Red Pandas, Pandas, a Tiger and 2 Hippos!  I saw one Hippo’s mouth open.  It had really big teeth!  The Tiger looked awesome!  The Pandas were so cute.  Also they were big too.  Pandas are very lazy.  All they do is eat and sleep.  On the bus, Windy told us that Pandas eat shoots and leaves.  Then she told us a funny story.  The story was...A Panda enters a restaurant and eats.  Then he shoots everyone except the waitress.  After, the Panda leaves.  So the Panda eats, shoots and leaves!  Funny...right!?  Before we left, all the kids bought at least one thing.  Alicia bought a Siberian Tiger stuffy which she named Siberi Antiger Lai.  Olivia bought some Bear Claws with Chinese writing on top.  Katie bought some mini key chain pandas and is planning on getting a rock or mineral.  I got about 5 stuffies for myself.  My dad bought me a panda hat.  I bought a panda purse too!  I spent a lot of money on that stuff.  I went to Old Town too.  At the Flying Tigers Museum, I bought a panda painting from Professor Li for 250 Yuans.  In total, I bought those things in different places.

When we got back I went swimming with all the girls.  Alicia and me played Club Penguin together in the pool.  Then Katie and Olivia joined.  The hot tub wasn’t even hot.  In the hot tub we made a whirlpool.  You could even float in it.  We (because team work is important) made a whirlpool by running in a big circle along the edge of the tub.  After everyone showered, Katie, Olivia and I went to a Hong Kong style restaurant while Auntie Grace and Alicia went to the restaurant in the hotel to have Clubhouse sandwiches.  I had mild spicy chicken wings but they were too spicy for me and Katie.  Olivia ate 4 wings but felt like exploding afterwards.  I had fries and chow mein instead.  Katie didn’t eat much.  The day was awesome!  I went to bed at about 8:45...so quarter to nine.  End of day!