Xian to Chengdu - Friday, July 8, 2011

Today we packed up, as we are headed to Chengdu tonight. But first, David took us to the Islamic section of Xian. In addition to it being a beautiful section of the city, we were brought to an old Muslim home and then to a puppet show for the girls. The puppets are made of animal skin, then painted. Several of the puppets are over 200 years old, as the puppeteers represent several family generations of puppet makers and puppeteers. The girls LOVED it!

Finally, we then rode bikes on the wall which surrounds Xian. I rode a tandem bike with Rebecca. We enjoyed the exercise and the great views. This wall is the only intact wall surrounding a city still existing in China. The wall is 950 years old!

We are now at the Xian Airport heading for Chengdu – to visit the Panda Breeding Reserve. The girls are so excited! We also will get to enjoy the Sichuan version of “hot pot”, with all the fiery spices Sichuan is known for. All the adults are looking forward to this!

After an exhausting plane ride from Xian to Chengdu (the plane was sidelined for awhile with mechanical problems, and it was 100+ degrees inside!),  we arrived at the Chengdu Airport one hour late. We went out to dinner at 9pm, and were back to the hotel, to bed, at 10:30pm. The kids were exhausted. Dinner was an experience. Ginger and I asked the concierge for meal suggestions (spicy for us, mild for the kids) and the name of the restaurant in Mandarin. Then we had to match the restaurant’s characters to the notes, and use hand signs to demonstrate what we wanted. However, we were only moderately successful, as Ginger and I enjoyed the spicy food, but our selections were less successful for the girls.

Visit to Muslim Merchant's Home

Puppet Show - The Monkey King

Holding The Puppets

Rebecca Holding The Monkey King

Xian - Thursday, July 7, 2011

We start out early, around 8am, as we have a full day today. On our way to the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum, we stop by the factory that makes the official replicas of the warriors and horses, ranging in size from a few inches high, to life size. We learn how the figures were originally made, using the old fashion techniques - the same clay material, the heat firing method used to harden the terracotta, the final personalization of the figure, using different human models to differentiate the faces, and the paint used to give the warriors the appropriate colored uniforms true to their ranks in the army. The girls then got to create small figurines themselves. They have a geat time! Of course there is a factory shop, and, of course, I buy some small figurines to take home. I also buy a beautiful hand made jewelry box with jade flowers carved and affixed to the box. Very lovely!

Then we had lunch at a restaurant on the way to the Museum. The girls were taught how to make Jiaozi (dumplings).     

The afternoon is devoted to a tour of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum. David gave us an excellent history of China’s first emperor, QinShihuang, who unified the various warring kingdoms to create what eventually became the country of China. It was for QinShihuang that the soldiers and horses were created over 2,000 years ago. There are about 8,000 warriors, horses, and chariots made of terracotta (and originally painted) excavated so far. The soldiers were created to guard QinShihuang’s tomb and protect him in his afterlife. Each of the soldiers had individual faces, styled after living soldiers. This site was discovered in 1974, by a farmer who  was digging a well on his farm. The site was designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 1987, and is considered the most important archeological site discovered in the 20^th century.   

We spent about four hours visiting the various excavations at the site. Truly a wonder to behold! To top it off, David was able to get copies of the Museum book autographed by the farmer (Yang Xioman, who is now 79 years old) who discovered the initial artifacts, then arranged for us to take the farmer's picture with our group of girls (despite the sign that said "no photos") and to shake his hand!! The farmer is an exalted figure within China!

Rebecca at the Workshop

Elizabeth at the Workshop

 

Elizabeth and Her Warrior



Rebecca and Her Warrior



   

Rebecca and Her Jiaozi

Terracotta Warriors

Terracotta Warriors Up Close

Rebecca and Elizabeth at Museum Main Hall

Warrior and His Horse



The Celebrated Farmer and Our Girls!











Xian - Wednesday, July 6, 2011

We arrived in Xian at 8am. It was pouring rain. Our guide, David, greeted us and walked us quite a distance to the van. We all got soaking wet. David gave us two hours at the hotel to get “refreshed”, before he brought us to a Chinese “hot pot” lunch. Lunch was excellent, and all the kids loved cooking their meats, vegetables and eggs in hot, bubbling, individual hot pots. David showed the adults how to make a spicy dipping sauce. Yum!

After lunch, David decided, given the rainy day, to head to two museums. One (ShaanXi Provincial Museum) provided us with a quick (90 minutes) and short history of Xian. Xian is the first of the several capitals of China. It was a capital city for 1,062 years (13 dynasties and 73 different emperors). The most famous dynasties were the Qin, Tang, and Han.

Then we went to the Xian Art Museum. The Museum guide gave us a very informative tour of several periods of Xian art. Then the girls were provided with paper, brush, and ink and taught a few strokes of calligraphy. Then they wrote several characters. Very  interesting! We then reviewed many student artist paintings for purchase (we succumbed!)

That evening  we went to dinner (more dumplings – “jiaozi”), and to a dance demonstration that presented various dances done for the emperors during the Tang dynasty. It was excellent! However, it lasted 90 minutes, and we were all very tired after a somewhat sleepless night on the train.

Tang Dynasty Dance

Tang Dynasty Dance

Tang Dynasty Dance

Tang Dynasty Dance

Tang Dynasty Dance

Tang Dynasty Dance

Beijing - Tuesday, July 5, 2011

We visited Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City in the morning. Again, it was extremely hot. There were many thousands of people touring that day – it was summer vacation, and July 1 was the 90^th anniversary  of the founding of the Chinese Communist party.

The Forbidden City contains a palace with 9,999 rooms. Only the Emperor, his family (many hundreds of children by various wives and concubines), eunnichs (servants) and concubines were allowed in to the inner sanctum of the palace. Mr. Wu, our guide explained all the various rituals and the importance of certain numbers- (“9^th” means everlasting, as it represents the largest single number; “8” means infinity, and it is very auspicious, etc.)

After the tour, we had a quick lunch, and then visited the Temple of Heaven. This was my first visit here, and it is exquisite. It is situated in a beautiful forested  park. We then went to another park, where the children all went on rides in a children’s playground. Then to another great dinner, and on to the train station in west Beijing, to take an overnight train to Xian. The accommodations were tight, but nice enough. The girls loved being in close proximity and a big play group developed, as the girls hung out in one of the train cabins. This trip also allowed the adults to get to know each other better. The train trip was 12 hours long. In the very early morning, it was wonderful to see the very lush countryside. The train is a joint venture between the Canadian Railway and China, so the train was quite nice.

90th Year of Chinese Communist Party

Our Lotus Tour Group - Tianamen Square

Rebecca, Hannah, Elizabeth, Olivia in Tianamen Square

Forbidden City - Main Courtyard

Elizabeth and Rebecca inside Forbidden City

Temple of Heaven

All But Two of the Homeland Returnees

Train Sleeping Cabin Gathering

Beijing and The Great Wall - Monday, July 4, 2011

We dressed the girls all in their 4^th of July outfits! Received lots of nice comments.

We left at 7am to make the two hour drive to the Mutianyu Gate of the Great Wall, constructed more than 2,000 years ago. This section of the Great Wall has 24 Gate Towers. We took a cable car up to Gate 14, then Elizabeth, Rebecca, and I started climbing to Gate 20. The first four gates were moderately difficult to climb, however the climb to Gates 19 and 20 were extremely difficult. Elizabeth and I decided to attempt the last two gates (Rebecca pooped out!). What  a steep incline!! It took us two hours to climb from Tower 14 to Tower 20 and then back. It was incredibly hot (near 100 degrees and very humid!), and I felt utterly depleted.

We refreshed ourselves with a lovely lunch in a garden restaurant. Then we drove back to the hotel, for a few hours rest before dinner. The girls went for a swim with all their new fast friends. All the girls were getting along very well.

Tonight we drove to the oldest Peking Duck restaurant in Beijing. It has been serving duck for several hundred years. Many famous people have eaten their Peking Duck here, Presidents Clinton and Nixon, among them. The dinner was exquisite. The Peking Duck the best I have ever eaten. Succulent meat in crispy skin served in little pancakes with scallions and hoisin sauce. The chefs cut the duck in 100+ pieces quickly in front of us. After dinner, we went home and walked around the neigborhood, through a popular open market with snacks to eat, and arts/crafts to buy. Then we went back to the hotel and collapsed in our beds. What an exhausting, but wonderful day! 

Great Wall at Mutianyu Gate

Rebecca and Elizabeth Resting At Great Wall

Ginger and My Girls at Great Wall

Great Wall - Up To Tower 20!

Duck Dinner Being Prepared

Duck Dinner Being Enjoyed!

Scorpions or Seahorses Anyone?

Or, How About Beetles On A Stick?

Beijing - Sunday, July 3, 2011

We joined our tour group today. Six families – a) Lorraine and daughter Sarah from Brooklyn, b) Paul and Cynthia, from Oak Park, Illinois, with their bio sons George (15), Henry (13) and adopted daughter Anne (11), c) Ken and Chris from Columbus, Ohio with their daughters Kate (13) and Claire (9), d) David and Cheryl from Waco, TX, with their daughters Josie (10) and Emily (8), Ginger and I. Six families, with 9 adults and 13 kids (all but the 2 bio boys adopted from China). Our guide was Mr. Woo.  We took a long drive to the Summer Palace, in the outskirts of Beijing. This is where the Emperor and Empress would retreat to in the sweltering Beijing summer (similar to today!). We saw the large lake, stone boat, bridges and towers. This was the last imperial resort built in feudal China. Very beautiful!

Then on to a lunch at the hutong (alleys that run through the old style village neighborhoods that represent the history, culture and lifestyle of old Beijing), at the home of a gentleman, whose family has lived there for over 400 years. The gentleman is known as a good chef. The luncheon he provided included many choices of very tasty food. He showed us his collection of crickets (a favorite pet in China), and his friendly shih zhu dog. After lunch, the children learned how to make kites. In the old days, kites were used in many ways, to deliver messages to the enemy, or others, and also to deliver requests to the emperor, by cutting the kite as it flew over the Forbidden City, to (hopefully) be picked up and delivered to the Emperor! We then visited around the hutong neighborhood by rickshaw. Along the way back, we drove by the Olympic Square, where we saw the Bird's Nest Stadium, the Water Cube, and the Olympic Broadcast Tower. Then we stopped at a jade manufacturer/retailer, where we learned about how to determine what is good jade, watched some carvings being made and purchased several jade items. Then back to the hotel for dinner and a long swim for the girls with their new friends.



Summer Palace Gate



Rebecca and Elizabeth at the Summer Palace

Olympic Bird's Nest Stadium

Rebecca, Hannah, Elizabeth and Rickshaw

Our Hutong Host and His Biggest Cricket!

Learning About Jade

Beijing - Saturday, July 2, 2011

After breakfast, we planned on meeting Mr. Wang, the father of a Chinese friend of a friend of mine. Mr. Wang’s daughter Jia was a student at UMass-Amherst and was “adopted” by my friend Nancy while Jia lived near Boston (she now lives near Philadelphia).  Mr. Wang and his wife have come to the Boston area several times to see his daughter and also visited Nancy. Mr. Wang, who speaks English as a result of living in London for many years as the Air Force attaché to the Chinese embassy, agreed to meet us at the hotel.

 All seven of us and Mr. Wang decided to walk to a park near Tianamen Square. The girls were able to play in the park and to learn a little history about the area. Then Mr. Wang very kindly hosted us at a dumpling lunch at a specialty Dumpling restaurant near our hotel. He must have ordered 10 dishes of dumplings – pork, chicken, fish, vegetable, duck, etc. We quickly became stuffed! Luckily, the restaurant prepared a take-home package so that Mr. Wang could bring the rest of the dinner home. It was wonderful to get Mr. Wang's viewpoint on the many questions we had. He was very much the gentleman, and I think he got a kick out of the girls playing "Marco Polo" (a game of blindman's tag normally played in the pool) in the park! Mr. Wang is retired now, and he told us he is very happy, and that he is able to fill his leisure time with many activities. He was in great physical shape, as he exercises daily.

After lunch we headed back to the hotel, said our thanks and goodbye to Mr. Wang. We then headed by taxi to Ling Ling pearls. I bought earrings and bracelets for the girls. Then back to the hotel for a swim, on to McDonald’s for a quick dinner, and then to see a Chinese acrobat show. The show was beautiful, and amazing, and we all enjoyed it immensely! Then home to bed, as the girls were exhausted (the adults were too!)



Beijing Park





Mr. Wang with Hannah, Elizabeth, Rebecca and Olivia



Mr. Wang at Dumpling Lunch



  



Mr. Wang and Girls in Front of Dumplings Restaurant 

 

Flying To Beijing - Friday, July 1, 2011

Today we flew to Beijing from Zhanjiang. This is a three hour flight to northern China. The flight was delayed and we did not get to Beijing until 6pm. Our guide Julia helped to transfer us from the Beijing Airport (largest in the world) to our hotel, the Novatel – Beijing Peace Hotel, located only a few blocks from city center and Tianamen Square. Ordered room service and went to bed early.

Suixi - Thursday, June 30, 2011

  After breakfast, we got ready for our trip to the orphanage. Rebecca is excited and nervous. We left the hotel at 1pm for Suixi (both a county of 1.5 million and a city), where the Suixi Social Welfare Institute (SWI) is located. Halfway there, we pick up the formula and candy for the children. When we arrive, Rebecca is warmly recognized by Mr. Han (Han Yong, Director). He laughs with happiness and hugs Rebecca continuously. Rebecca is at first unsure, but then is beaming with the attention. Mr. Han brings us to the second floor, where there is a conference room and long table and the leadership offices. We are joined by Zhou Yi You (man) Assistant Director, Ye Hong Ying (woman, and the person in the yellow jacket in Rebecca's adoption photos) Assistant Director, Chen Mei Qing (Doctor), and Yan Yu Qing, Mr. Han's wife and one of the five caretakers for Rebecca's group of children. Mr. Han warmly welcomes us to Suixi SWI and thanks us for honoring us with a visit. They provide us with bowls of fruit (lechee fruit and bananas) and water. We are introduced to everyone, and pictures are taken by me of all the SWI people with Rebecca. I presented Mr. Han with enlargements of the photos I had taken on adoption day in Guangzhou in November 2003. Mr. Han was delighted to see them. I told him that Rebecca referred to him as Baba (Papa), as they were particularly close.

Mr. Han confirmed that Rebecca was left at the gate of the orphanage, when she was 4 days old, and that she was a healthy and lively baby throughout her 2 years at the orphanage. He also said that she cried a lot when frustrated, a trait she still has today! He mentioned that there was no note, birthdate or birth name left with her when she was found. Mr. Zhou was the person responsible for naming all the babies when they arrived at the orphanage. Rebecca's name is  Sui Shao Lian, which means little Lotus flower.

Then Mr. Han told me a story that I had never heard before. Suixi was late to international adoption, and its first group was in 2002. He told me Rebecca was in the first group of Suixi girls matched for adoption. A couple was scheduled to adopt her and Rebecca and her group of girls was brought to Guangzhou for the adoption process.  However, Rebecca was very feverish, as she was teething. The selected couple was afraid to take Rebecca, believing  her feverish state indicated something more dangerous. So, they decided not to proceed with Rebecca's adoption. Instead, another baby girl from Suixi was arranged for adoption, and driven up from Suixi. Rebecca ended up going to and from Suixi in the care of Mr. Han's wife (her primary caregiver). So, Rebecca had to wait another year to be matched with me as part of the third Suixi adoption group. She was 24 months old at the time and she had gotten very close to Mr. and Mrs. Han. When I received her, she cried very deeply for five days straight - as she grieved the loss of her Mama and Baba. It was hard for me to watch at the time. Mr. Han and the orphanage staff all agreed it was Rebecca's "fate" to be matched with me. Rebecca was happy to hear this story! And, the staff said that Rebecca was the more lively baby than the child the couple decided to adopt!

We then toured the third floor children's playroom. There were about 20 toddlers there. Some were obviously physically handicapped, with a missing arm, several children with cleft lip/palate, and some were mentally handicapped. I took pictures of many of them and immediately showed them the digital pictures. They clapped their hands with excitment. Elizabeth and Rebecca gave each child a small bag of candy. There was a set of twins, about 3 years of age, who stared quietly at us. I took a picture of Rebecca on the same rocking horse on which she was photographed for her referral picture. The playroom was adequate but not filled with many toys. We next went to one of the baby rooms. There were about 20 steel cribs latched together, with babies in most of them, sleeping or awake. The crib floors had no cushions on them, so the babies slept on hardwood flooring. It was so barren and spare. It was sad to see. There was one 3 to 4 year old in one crib whose hands were covered in gauze, who was tied to his crib so he would not try to get out. I decided not to take any photos, so as not to push the boundaries.

We then went back to the conference room. The entire building is about 7 stories, and we were told there were aorund 90 children at the SWI. This would mean most of the remaining children were hidden away because of the severity of their deformities.

Mr. Han said that about 90 children from this SWI had been adopted by American families. Of all the international adoptions, about 20 children have returned. Yesterday, a family from Katonah, New York had returned with a Suixi girl from Rebecca's original (first) adoption group (a cribmate of Rebecca). The SWI keeps a visitor book, listing all the returning children. We saw the information from the child from the previous day. I wrote down their name and phone number and will try to contact them when I return home. Rebecca entered her information and drew a picture of Mr. Han and herself holding hands and labeled it Shao Lian and Baba. Mr. Han was delighted.

Mr. Han gave me a huge hardcover book on the history of Suixi, with photos of the surrounding area, including one of the SWI building. He entered the date of our visit and inscribed it. I will ask one of our guides to translate it. We exchanged addresses and email addresses. He asked for any group photos we could provide of upcoming gatherings of Suixi girls. I was also asked to provide them with the Chinese names of the 3 other girls in the adoption photo I provided them from 2003.

We then went to have dinner with Mr./Mrs. Han, their 17 year old son, Miss Ye, Assistant Director, and her eight year old daughter, our guide, Yorkee Lee, our driver, Mr. Wu. This dinner was to honor our visit. We were asked what we would like to eat, and chicken (with head attached), shrimp , broccoli, pork, vegetables, white rice, and scallion pancakes were brought. Mr. Han furthered honored Rebecca and Elizabeth by placing food on each of their plates before the others. We all toasted with "gan bei" and clicked glasses of tea. All in all, we spent 5 hours with the orphanage director. Mr. Han asked Rebecca to learn Chinese before she next visits in 10 years, so that she can talk directly with the staff. Goodbye hugs were given all around. Then we left for the hotel.

Rebecca told me she was very happy with the visit and pronounced the day exciting and wonderful. I agreed with her, and was so pleased with the wonderful and warm response.

Tomorrow we head to Beijing.  Bye for now! 

Director Han and Rebecca at the SWI Gate

Ms Ye, Mr Han, Mrs Han, Ms Chen, and Mr Zhou with Rebecca



New Picture of Rebecca - Six Months





Rebecca's Original Referral Pictures





    

 

 



Elizabeth, Rebecca and Ms Ye's Daughter

 

Rebecca On Rocking Horse




 

Rebecca with Mommy in China - 11/2003

 


Assistant Director Ye With Rebecca

 

  










Rebecca With Doctor Chen and Assistant Director Zhou

 





Children At Orphanage