OK, none of us really wanted to leave. We were so sad the night we left that our visit to Beijing's most famous HotPot restaurant felt more like a wake. We visited the Temple of Heaven in the morning and nearly froze our butts off. Mae continues to insist that she dress for San Diego weather, and it's making us all a bit crazy. The girls both asked where the prayer wheels were and if they could pray to the Buddha...LOL we have two new religious converts and for those who know this you can see how funny this is. We warmed ourselves up quickly by visiting HongQiao Market, which is totally renovated since I was last there, and quite overwhelming in its size. We all got into the shopping frenzy, making darn sure that we brought home not one yuan with us. We came pretty darn close!
Trip home was uneventful, which is what you want on long, trans-Pacific flights. My major task now is to get photos linked in some kind of coherent fashion so that some of these blog posts make sense.
Maybe I am getting soft(er) in my old age, or maybe I am really tired, but I kept crying on the airplane, thinking of the highlights of the trip, counting my blessings we could swing a trip like this and mentally preparing our next one. I know it is a big world with lots to see and do, but China seems so the center of our universe, and with so much to explore, it is hard to tear ourselves away, even mentally.
I asked the girls to make a list of their favorite things they did on the trip. Mae's were funny :"Seeing ducks in the water but those weren't the ones we ate.." and "Praying". Zoe listed her new found culinary bravery, the visit to Zhaji, and seeing Joan and Hai Ying. Ian loved, as I did, Zhaji-a place that has totally stolen our hearts, our entire trip to NingDu, and returning to the Summer Palace. I personally was surprised how much I loved BeiHai Park in Beijing, but the highlights were connecting with Zoe's nanny, my hero, Li Kai Nian, finding the woman who found Mae quietly laying in a box early one morning in October 2003, and the images of Zoe running through the village streets of Zhaji, totally at home and her small voice bouncing off the 500 year old walls of this farming village; the man serenading Zoe with old Anhui songs on the little island off the shores of Chao Lake-an Anhui daughter returning home; the Peking Opera being staged in a dirt lot in NingDu, our eyes on the performers, all audience eyes on us and every kid wearing split pants and the feeling that I had been transported back in time about 40 years;Mae's firecracker entrance to NingDu's CWI and the banner above the door that read "Welcome Ning Fu Hua Back Home"....small moments that will be etched into my memory forever.
I can list the downsides of this trip in about 10 words:
Mae's bug bites on her arm.
Couldn't stay longer
(oops, that's nine words)
We were treated with kindness at every turn, every place we went. The Chinese know that travelling independently takes a bit of courage, and I really believe that families are rewarded handsomely when they stray a bit off the beaten track. And in several instances where our presence was met with incomprehension, our little Chinese cards stating that we were returning with our Anhui and Jiangxi born daughters and that we were visiting China, a country we loved, on holiday, we were met with thumbs up, Hen Haos and boatloads of smiles, all that made every bit of planning worthwhile.
I don't even think paying my visa bill this morning will dampen these fond memories.....
We are blessed, truly.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Winding Down in Beijing
Well, this adventure is winding down,and our goal to cover a lot of territory today was dampened by rain which started late morning. We headed to Beihei Park, one of the private gardens of Emperors and his family. It is just outside the Forbidden city and we had never been. WHAT A TREAT! Even with gray skies it was lovely and we spent a number of hours walking around the lake, clibming hills and getting great views of the city.
Zoe and Mae, after encouragement in their provinces from various people, now insist on kneeling before Buddha, bowing three times, making a prayer or having a moment of silent contemplation, then dropping 5 RMB into the donation box. They search out prayer wheels and think carefully about what they pray for (No toy or DS/Gameboy requests allowed). Zoe got quite into it, and began asking me a number of questions about the various reincarnations of the Buddha, and my intro to world religions university class began to fail me quite quickly. Living in Asia for so long you would think that I would know these things. I hope her interest lasts.
Got a phone call from my mom about this point, and our Watsonville friend, Hunter. We rented paddle boats to take out onto the lake and it began to rain hard just as we pulled away from the dock. Then the winds began, and I had a horrible vision of us being lost at "sea" (Well, it IS supposed to represent the ocean) and having to be towed in at great expense by the boat staff with all the locals looking on getting their jollies at our expense. We paddled hard and our ride on the lake lasted a total of 10 minutes. But the girls enjoyed it..until they started getting soaked and freezing.
I forgot what a royal pain in the butt trying to find a taxi in the rain is.....in KL at least it was 80 degrees....not so today and poor Mae, who stubbornly refuses to wear socks and anything but a sweater, was shaking like a leaf by the time we found a cab. Give us another parent of the year award for our planning, but we did have plenty of toilet paper this time.
Just desperate to get inside, I pulled out an old business card for the Shard Box shop near Ritan Park..God, I LOVE this shop, and Ian hadn't been. He now loves it too. Fascinating place and the owner had lots of time to talk with us about various items. When we were both engrossed in looking at jewelry with 2000 year old coins, porcelain beads and other cool stuff, the staff took Zoe and Mae outside, around the corner to the building's lock communal pit toilet. Where else would you let a stranger take your kids to the toilet...LOL. Zoe continues to assimilate quite well, and is so proud of her squatting abilities...she can go alone. Not so Mae, who continues to sometimes call them Squish Toilets and prefers to have me dangle her over the loo to do her business. My back is quite shot after two weeks of this.
We then walked, in the drizzle, to the NEW silk alley market, a frightening experience of 4-5 stories of hundreds of stalls, and according to my guidebook, sees upwards of 20K people a day(!!!). We got jackets (SURPRISE) a few teeshirts, and a gift or two...ran into a line of stall workers all from ChaoHu (I tested the veracity of this with info that only us ChaoHu insiders could know). Zoe got horribly embarrassed because these girls and couple of guys made a HUGE deal out of her. Pissed Mae off and she began to slide into a funk. Add this to the 2 1/2 hour search for a taxi, and you can guess the rest.
We had 'room service' tonight (nice food ordered at a restaurant down the hutong and delivered to our room, along with another bottle of wine.....) packed our bags so that we are not rushed tomorrow, and will call it a night.
I know we said we wouldn't be back for at least five years, but we are once again planning a trip sooner rather than later. At breakfast this morning, almost every group was doing the same.....kind of funny.
But once China gets in your blood......
Zoe and Mae, after encouragement in their provinces from various people, now insist on kneeling before Buddha, bowing three times, making a prayer or having a moment of silent contemplation, then dropping 5 RMB into the donation box. They search out prayer wheels and think carefully about what they pray for (No toy or DS/Gameboy requests allowed). Zoe got quite into it, and began asking me a number of questions about the various reincarnations of the Buddha, and my intro to world religions university class began to fail me quite quickly. Living in Asia for so long you would think that I would know these things. I hope her interest lasts.
Got a phone call from my mom about this point, and our Watsonville friend, Hunter. We rented paddle boats to take out onto the lake and it began to rain hard just as we pulled away from the dock. Then the winds began, and I had a horrible vision of us being lost at "sea" (Well, it IS supposed to represent the ocean) and having to be towed in at great expense by the boat staff with all the locals looking on getting their jollies at our expense. We paddled hard and our ride on the lake lasted a total of 10 minutes. But the girls enjoyed it..until they started getting soaked and freezing.
I forgot what a royal pain in the butt trying to find a taxi in the rain is.....in KL at least it was 80 degrees....not so today and poor Mae, who stubbornly refuses to wear socks and anything but a sweater, was shaking like a leaf by the time we found a cab. Give us another parent of the year award for our planning, but we did have plenty of toilet paper this time.
Just desperate to get inside, I pulled out an old business card for the Shard Box shop near Ritan Park..God, I LOVE this shop, and Ian hadn't been. He now loves it too. Fascinating place and the owner had lots of time to talk with us about various items. When we were both engrossed in looking at jewelry with 2000 year old coins, porcelain beads and other cool stuff, the staff took Zoe and Mae outside, around the corner to the building's lock communal pit toilet. Where else would you let a stranger take your kids to the toilet...LOL. Zoe continues to assimilate quite well, and is so proud of her squatting abilities...she can go alone. Not so Mae, who continues to sometimes call them Squish Toilets and prefers to have me dangle her over the loo to do her business. My back is quite shot after two weeks of this.
We then walked, in the drizzle, to the NEW silk alley market, a frightening experience of 4-5 stories of hundreds of stalls, and according to my guidebook, sees upwards of 20K people a day(!!!). We got jackets (SURPRISE) a few teeshirts, and a gift or two...ran into a line of stall workers all from ChaoHu (I tested the veracity of this with info that only us ChaoHu insiders could know). Zoe got horribly embarrassed because these girls and couple of guys made a HUGE deal out of her. Pissed Mae off and she began to slide into a funk. Add this to the 2 1/2 hour search for a taxi, and you can guess the rest.
We had 'room service' tonight (nice food ordered at a restaurant down the hutong and delivered to our room, along with another bottle of wine.....) packed our bags so that we are not rushed tomorrow, and will call it a night.
I know we said we wouldn't be back for at least five years, but we are once again planning a trip sooner rather than later. At breakfast this morning, almost every group was doing the same.....kind of funny.
But once China gets in your blood......
Thursday, March 27, 2008
HAKKA GIRL
One other, very interesting thing we wdiscovered about NingDu is that 99% of the people in the county are Hakka, a small subsection of the Han. About 15 million Hakka are living in China and abroad, with the largest concentration otside of China being in Malaysia (1 million) of all places. Something to do research on, but it explains the difficulty many people have with the local dialect.
We now refer to mae as Hakka Girl, and I think it suits her beautifully.
We now refer to mae as Hakka Girl, and I think it suits her beautifully.
NingDu - Mae's hometown
Mae has been a champ through her entire NingDu visit. We were worried that she might get shy, but she seems to have taken this in stride. The drive to NingDu was long, and it was apparent about an hour outside of Nanchang that this province and area are significantly poorer than where Zoe comes from in Anhui province. In fact, by the time we were in NingDu I was significantly unprepared for te level of poverty that I saw.
Our guide, an experienced adoption facilitor/assistant concurred that NingDu is one of the very smallest orpahanges in Jiangxi, and only 300 girls have been adopted oout of this place in the past 10 years. The area is overwhelmingly agricultural, with most of the production being rice and citrus. The building boom evident in every other place we've seen has not reaching this southern part of Jiangxi province
As we pulled into the small lane that houses the orpahange (the New NEW CWI, the NEW CSI where Mae stayed,and the old CWI, all are next to eachother with the new new CWI only having been open since Oct. 1, 2006) a long string of frecrackers was set off, and the staff were at the gate waiting for us.
A large banner hung over the doorway, to the effect "Welcome back to NingFu Hua and her family)." We were ushered in the front door and I instantly recognized Mae's nanny. The walls were covered in photos, with many of 'Mae Mae' included. After lots of fussing over Mae, we were led to a second room where a formally laid table waited us, with Mae's file. The director gave us a nice welcome speech, and then gave us time to really go over her paperwork. Mae sat on my lap the entire time, and Zoe sulked in the corner.
As we turned thge pages, we saw with our own eyes the note left with her the morning she was abandoned, and THEN, in the trip's most unexpected surprise and greatest gift, the ID card of the woman who found her When I asked if it would ever be possible to locate this woman, the director said, "OH, she works here...one moment." Within minutes this woman was standing in front of Mae, tears in her eyes. I was able to ask those vital questions every parent wants to know: What was she in, what was she wearing, was she crying or cold. And I felt greatly comforted to know that she had not been crying and had been in a small box for probably not very long, her red envelope note with her.
We visited the site later in the day, a site that we thought we had photos of but in actuality did not. The trip with all its expenses was worth it for this very moment and bit of information. We were able to see a few of the babies whose parents had sent letters and who had requested we try and take photos (Jiao Jiao was happy, Xin Xin looked sad and possibly recovering from a cold), and then went upstairs for lunch. The director and Cai Rong Ron were both there, and we were able to ask more questions about the CWI in general.
Mae passed out gifts to each of the nannies and we visited the napping babies. I took as many photos as I felt was appropriate, then it was time to leave. We were at the CWI for appproximately two hours but it felt like much longer. A hge string of firecrackers was lit as we pulled out of the gate. It was very moving.
A member of the staf took us to a local tourist site and we spent a couple of hours hiking around soem beautiful mountains and visiting a Toaist temple, where we had Mae's future read. I will post more on this later once I am back. It was a great experience. We spent the night at the NingDu hotel, reserved for party officials and one of the nicer plaes we've stayed. The disparity between the hotel and the town was shocking, and left me feeling rather pissed off. The CWI ran out of coal during the horribly cold snow/storms they had over new years, and the townpeople brought the orphanage coal to keep the babies warm. This was not a problem at the NingDu Hotel, no doubt. Do I sound a bit pissed at this? This is the yucky side of it all. I won't go on.
Truthfylly the rest is blur....a bad night's sleep(racing thoughts and could not really rest) long trip back to Nanchang (a changing city but one, sadly, after two trips I find no affinity with), a nice overnight train trip to Beijing which the girls loved, and a safe arrival back in Beijing...to, get this - BLUE SKIES AND BALMLY Weather.
We raced to the Lama temple, one of the most beautiful and tranquil places in Beijing, to really get the most out of it, and then back to our new courtyard hotel. Everyone took a nap, except ME who want charging off to the Lido area to shop, and made quite a dent in my list. As much as I love to shop in China, I find a bit of the fun missing....maybe I am tired , maybe my house is already full of the stuff I see for sale (likely :-) or maybe this trip has just not been about shopping (spending money hand over fist, yes, but shopping, not so much). I'll try to get over it....I still have two more days).
So much else to write, but I'll end it here tonight. A bottle of Dragon Seal awaits me.... ;-)
Lisa
Our guide, an experienced adoption facilitor/assistant concurred that NingDu is one of the very smallest orpahanges in Jiangxi, and only 300 girls have been adopted oout of this place in the past 10 years. The area is overwhelmingly agricultural, with most of the production being rice and citrus. The building boom evident in every other place we've seen has not reaching this southern part of Jiangxi province
As we pulled into the small lane that houses the orpahange (the New NEW CWI, the NEW CSI where Mae stayed,and the old CWI, all are next to eachother with the new new CWI only having been open since Oct. 1, 2006) a long string of frecrackers was set off, and the staff were at the gate waiting for us.
A large banner hung over the doorway, to the effect "Welcome back to NingFu Hua and her family)." We were ushered in the front door and I instantly recognized Mae's nanny. The walls were covered in photos, with many of 'Mae Mae' included. After lots of fussing over Mae, we were led to a second room where a formally laid table waited us, with Mae's file. The director gave us a nice welcome speech, and then gave us time to really go over her paperwork. Mae sat on my lap the entire time, and Zoe sulked in the corner.
As we turned thge pages, we saw with our own eyes the note left with her the morning she was abandoned, and THEN, in the trip's most unexpected surprise and greatest gift, the ID card of the woman who found her When I asked if it would ever be possible to locate this woman, the director said, "OH, she works here...one moment." Within minutes this woman was standing in front of Mae, tears in her eyes. I was able to ask those vital questions every parent wants to know: What was she in, what was she wearing, was she crying or cold. And I felt greatly comforted to know that she had not been crying and had been in a small box for probably not very long, her red envelope note with her.
We visited the site later in the day, a site that we thought we had photos of but in actuality did not. The trip with all its expenses was worth it for this very moment and bit of information. We were able to see a few of the babies whose parents had sent letters and who had requested we try and take photos (Jiao Jiao was happy, Xin Xin looked sad and possibly recovering from a cold), and then went upstairs for lunch. The director and Cai Rong Ron were both there, and we were able to ask more questions about the CWI in general.
Mae passed out gifts to each of the nannies and we visited the napping babies. I took as many photos as I felt was appropriate, then it was time to leave. We were at the CWI for appproximately two hours but it felt like much longer. A hge string of firecrackers was lit as we pulled out of the gate. It was very moving.
A member of the staf took us to a local tourist site and we spent a couple of hours hiking around soem beautiful mountains and visiting a Toaist temple, where we had Mae's future read. I will post more on this later once I am back. It was a great experience. We spent the night at the NingDu hotel, reserved for party officials and one of the nicer plaes we've stayed. The disparity between the hotel and the town was shocking, and left me feeling rather pissed off. The CWI ran out of coal during the horribly cold snow/storms they had over new years, and the townpeople brought the orphanage coal to keep the babies warm. This was not a problem at the NingDu Hotel, no doubt. Do I sound a bit pissed at this? This is the yucky side of it all. I won't go on.
Truthfylly the rest is blur....a bad night's sleep(racing thoughts and could not really rest) long trip back to Nanchang (a changing city but one, sadly, after two trips I find no affinity with), a nice overnight train trip to Beijing which the girls loved, and a safe arrival back in Beijing...to, get this - BLUE SKIES AND BALMLY Weather.
We raced to the Lama temple, one of the most beautiful and tranquil places in Beijing, to really get the most out of it, and then back to our new courtyard hotel. Everyone took a nap, except ME who want charging off to the Lido area to shop, and made quite a dent in my list. As much as I love to shop in China, I find a bit of the fun missing....maybe I am tired , maybe my house is already full of the stuff I see for sale (likely :-) or maybe this trip has just not been about shopping (spending money hand over fist, yes, but shopping, not so much). I'll try to get over it....I still have two more days).
So much else to write, but I'll end it here tonight. A bottle of Dragon Seal awaits me.... ;-)
Lisa
Monday, March 24, 2008
A place called Zhaji
Sometimes you find a really special place, really out of the way and off the beaten track. Thanks to some FCCSD friends, we were told about Zhaji, a farming village in the southwestern part of Anhui province. It was about a three hour frive from ChaoHu (and about two hours north of Huangshan). It was a pretty drive, once we passed through the snarl of, yes, construction in Wuhu, parts of which are unrecognizable since our brief stay in 2001. The countryside gave way to slightly mountainous terrain, and then a few turns later, small winding roads into 500 year old villages. This area of Anhui is known for its architecture...high white walls, unique pitched roofs, and black tiles and stone work. As we drove through villages you could see this very old architecture. This part of Anhui is overwhelmingly rural, with lots of tea, mulberry, rice and garden crops being produced. And for every small car or motorcycle was a water buffalo or a hand pulled cart.
It rained most of our trip, and when we made our way into the village, Hai Ying and Chen Jun, who had insisted on going with us to see to our safe passage, were probably a little aghast.We found ourselves at the end of a muddy, dead end road, with loads of curious onlookers. Julien, the inn's owner and occupant, met us here and helped us drag our luggage through the village to his 500 year olf , ming-era courtyard home, through small hutongs and stonepaved alleys, past high white walls and over the bridge that runs across the stream that meanders through the village of Zhaji. Women were down below washing clothes, washing vegetables, etc. I will have to take some time to really write about this place and do it some poetic justice, but we did feel as if we were being transported into another world. I think Hai ying and Chen Jun were amazed, amazed by his house, restored from a pile of timber and rubble, into a clean-lined, white and wood space of simplicity, antiquity, and utter calm and beauty. Everything in the house was from the village, almost without exception...the carved wooden doors, the lattice window panes, the rough hewn beams that supported the building, loads of antique furniture, chairs and tables, etc. It was amazing. Julien has turned out to be one of my new China heroes. He splits his time between his home and wife in Nanjing and the rest of the time running his place. He has created something totally unique in all of China. He does not know of anyone else who has done such a thing.
He has two rooms upstairs, and we were the sole occupants. The girls had a large room with two double beds, and Ian and I had a smaller room tucked under the rafters. It rained the first day and a half, so he lit a fire, and we enjoyed simple SIMPLE Chinese food at his big wooden table, drinking and eating and then hanging out by the fire. We then took a walk through the village...to the calligrapher's shop where he makes his own brushes, to an old clan house that is now a simple museum...to a friend who has his own small museum filled with 500 year old antiques-porcelain, wood, carvings etc. Then we headed out into the countryside, down dirt paths, through paddy, past old cemeteries and loads of tiny plots of people working their land, all the while these amazing vistas of small clusters of these courtyard homes, stretching along the riverbank. Can you tell? I cannot do this justice. It began to rain, and Mae and Zoe ran with abandon...getting horribly muddy and wet and enjoying every minute. The next morning we did much of the same, taking a stroll through the main town and then hiking a couple of miles or so (Yes, Mae did it too) up into the hills to see an old pagoda. More wonderful meals back at the house, with the Ayi (auntie) overseeing the running of the place...drinks by the fire, the girls coloring and playing games....a true slice of heaven!!
Yesterday we awoke to sunny skies, and we did another long swing through the village, taking photos and watching the village kind of come to life with the nice weather. I could make a list of things we saw, but I think I will wait until I can post photos. One other highlight is that Zoe has discovered real Chinese food, picking off plates with her chopsticks like a pro, trying everything, and having discovered a love of cooked greens, steamed buns, pork, and fried bread!
One little comment about Julien. He studied Chinese arts and ethnic culture in Aix en Provence (small world) and has been in China on and off for many years. He is fluent in Chinese. His goal in restoring this home was to preserve a piece of China that is disappearing, although fortunately not at the rapid pace of the cities. This is still very much a working village. He was very excited to have to daughters of China visiting Zhaji, and he took great efforts to engage them in our walks, in our meals etc. He wants, for his own future child and for others, to make a connection with China that is not easily experienced in a big city, and his heart and motivation comes from much the same place as an adoptive parent wanting that for their child. The combination was great. Several parents have asked if they thought this would be a good experience for children, a visit to this village, to which I can only give a resounding YES!
Yesterday afternoon we headed to Huanghans city, after an INCREDIBLE drive through the countryside. We toured a bit in the old city of HuanghShan, had an INCREDIBLE meal at a very cool restaurant, and caught our train to Nanchang that night. Zoe and Mae LOVED the train!!!!! And are looking forward to it again in a couple of days.
Need I say that Nanchang has changed a lot. Across the river there was nothing a few years ago...now it sprouts high rise towers...cranes and construction everywhere........Our guide Maggie met us at the station, and we will be on our way to WalMart soon to stock up on supplies, buy Mae some socks, and then go and visit the famous ant statue at the Lakeview (shades of 2004!), then a drive around Nanchang in the afternoon.
Can you tell we are having fun? Everyone happy, healthy, relaxed, and every day brings yet another great adventure. It doesn't get any better than this.
Tomorrow....NINGDU. And what an adventure that will surely be! Will post when we can!
It rained most of our trip, and when we made our way into the village, Hai Ying and Chen Jun, who had insisted on going with us to see to our safe passage, were probably a little aghast.We found ourselves at the end of a muddy, dead end road, with loads of curious onlookers. Julien, the inn's owner and occupant, met us here and helped us drag our luggage through the village to his 500 year olf , ming-era courtyard home, through small hutongs and stonepaved alleys, past high white walls and over the bridge that runs across the stream that meanders through the village of Zhaji. Women were down below washing clothes, washing vegetables, etc. I will have to take some time to really write about this place and do it some poetic justice, but we did feel as if we were being transported into another world. I think Hai ying and Chen Jun were amazed, amazed by his house, restored from a pile of timber and rubble, into a clean-lined, white and wood space of simplicity, antiquity, and utter calm and beauty. Everything in the house was from the village, almost without exception...the carved wooden doors, the lattice window panes, the rough hewn beams that supported the building, loads of antique furniture, chairs and tables, etc. It was amazing. Julien has turned out to be one of my new China heroes. He splits his time between his home and wife in Nanjing and the rest of the time running his place. He has created something totally unique in all of China. He does not know of anyone else who has done such a thing.
He has two rooms upstairs, and we were the sole occupants. The girls had a large room with two double beds, and Ian and I had a smaller room tucked under the rafters. It rained the first day and a half, so he lit a fire, and we enjoyed simple SIMPLE Chinese food at his big wooden table, drinking and eating and then hanging out by the fire. We then took a walk through the village...to the calligrapher's shop where he makes his own brushes, to an old clan house that is now a simple museum...to a friend who has his own small museum filled with 500 year old antiques-porcelain, wood, carvings etc. Then we headed out into the countryside, down dirt paths, through paddy, past old cemeteries and loads of tiny plots of people working their land, all the while these amazing vistas of small clusters of these courtyard homes, stretching along the riverbank. Can you tell? I cannot do this justice. It began to rain, and Mae and Zoe ran with abandon...getting horribly muddy and wet and enjoying every minute. The next morning we did much of the same, taking a stroll through the main town and then hiking a couple of miles or so (Yes, Mae did it too) up into the hills to see an old pagoda. More wonderful meals back at the house, with the Ayi (auntie) overseeing the running of the place...drinks by the fire, the girls coloring and playing games....a true slice of heaven!!
Yesterday we awoke to sunny skies, and we did another long swing through the village, taking photos and watching the village kind of come to life with the nice weather. I could make a list of things we saw, but I think I will wait until I can post photos. One other highlight is that Zoe has discovered real Chinese food, picking off plates with her chopsticks like a pro, trying everything, and having discovered a love of cooked greens, steamed buns, pork, and fried bread!
One little comment about Julien. He studied Chinese arts and ethnic culture in Aix en Provence (small world) and has been in China on and off for many years. He is fluent in Chinese. His goal in restoring this home was to preserve a piece of China that is disappearing, although fortunately not at the rapid pace of the cities. This is still very much a working village. He was very excited to have to daughters of China visiting Zhaji, and he took great efforts to engage them in our walks, in our meals etc. He wants, for his own future child and for others, to make a connection with China that is not easily experienced in a big city, and his heart and motivation comes from much the same place as an adoptive parent wanting that for their child. The combination was great. Several parents have asked if they thought this would be a good experience for children, a visit to this village, to which I can only give a resounding YES!
Yesterday afternoon we headed to Huanghans city, after an INCREDIBLE drive through the countryside. We toured a bit in the old city of HuanghShan, had an INCREDIBLE meal at a very cool restaurant, and caught our train to Nanchang that night. Zoe and Mae LOVED the train!!!!! And are looking forward to it again in a couple of days.
Need I say that Nanchang has changed a lot. Across the river there was nothing a few years ago...now it sprouts high rise towers...cranes and construction everywhere........Our guide Maggie met us at the station, and we will be on our way to WalMart soon to stock up on supplies, buy Mae some socks, and then go and visit the famous ant statue at the Lakeview (shades of 2004!), then a drive around Nanchang in the afternoon.
Can you tell we are having fun? Everyone happy, healthy, relaxed, and every day brings yet another great adventure. It doesn't get any better than this.
Tomorrow....NINGDU. And what an adventure that will surely be! Will post when we can!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Day Two in ChaoHu
We headed off on the second day of our adventure here. Mr. Lee, Hai Yings friend, arranged two cars to take us to ChaoHu itself (the lake). We drove through the countryside, to incredible countryside, My email time is limited, but it really was a great drive (besides getting Cougar!) We drove out to the temple on the lake where we visited two years ago, but because of a fierce storm, it was closed down (I actually sat in the car with Mae who was having a tantrum) Long story short, we viewed the temple, the girls had their fortunes read, we went for another lunch where we had more great ChaoHu food and endless toasts, then took a speed boat out onto the island about 2-3 miles away...Island looked small, but it was really very large, and we wandered through villages and then hiked to the top of the mountain where a very very tall pagoda was situated. Mae, Zoe and I hiked to the VERY top, and....it was covered in ladybugs. Some of you will understand the significance of that.
On the way down we were treated to a musical solo performance by a man in a teahouse, who played ChaoHu and NAhui songs in honor of Zoe. Ian and I were big hits..like rock stars as the sole white folk on the island. We were good natured about it all...Ian and I snapping photos of the scenery and the girls, while we heard people taking photos of us taking photos of their countryside...quite funny. The nanny, director, a friend and Hai Ying's mother and terror of a daughter went with us too.
Back at the hotel we had more lengthy converstaions, and then off to our last dinner. I'll cut the to chase...the goodbye with Zoe's nanny was so very sad. She said earlier in the evening that when the girls leave they fully expect never to see them again.....So to say goodbye tonight, even though we have promsied to return, made us all very sad...tears and more tears. Ian and I are toally drained, and so it Zoe.
We leave for Zhaji village tomorrow at 8:00. Hain Ying and our translator will go with us to drop us off. Then part three of our journey beings...living in a viallage in Anhui province. Our next email is likely from Nanchang, where the lovely Maggie is waiting for us and ready to take us to NingDu.....
On the way down we were treated to a musical solo performance by a man in a teahouse, who played ChaoHu and NAhui songs in honor of Zoe. Ian and I were big hits..like rock stars as the sole white folk on the island. We were good natured about it all...Ian and I snapping photos of the scenery and the girls, while we heard people taking photos of us taking photos of their countryside...quite funny. The nanny, director, a friend and Hai Ying's mother and terror of a daughter went with us too.
Back at the hotel we had more lengthy converstaions, and then off to our last dinner. I'll cut the to chase...the goodbye with Zoe's nanny was so very sad. She said earlier in the evening that when the girls leave they fully expect never to see them again.....So to say goodbye tonight, even though we have promsied to return, made us all very sad...tears and more tears. Ian and I are toally drained, and so it Zoe.
We leave for Zhaji village tomorrow at 8:00. Hain Ying and our translator will go with us to drop us off. Then part three of our journey beings...living in a viallage in Anhui province. Our next email is likely from Nanchang, where the lovely Maggie is waiting for us and ready to take us to NingDu.....
A tribute to a hero: Li Kai Nian
The greatest thrill, and there have been many the past 36 hours, is meeting Zoe's caregiver, Li Kai Nian. She worked at the CWI for almost ten years, before being fired in the mass purge by the current evil director. She is probably in her 60s. While we awere sitting and discussing with the orpahange's former director, she began to sing the praises of her staff: how hard they worked, their devotion to the children, etc. She put her hand on Li Kai Nian's shoulder and said the following:
"This is a woman who would take a baby home at night with her to her home, to give it some special attention. She would bathe it and sleep with it, to give that child some extra attention and love," Li Kai Nian smiled and nodded.
When I tried to open my mouth to tell her how wonderful that was and, on behalf of all the parents who had adopted from ChaoHu, to thanks her, I lost it and began to cry, really cry! I choked out that the biggest dream and hope for parents while they waited for their children was that someone was loving them, like a mother would. I thanked her. She came over to me, crying, and hugged me, and we cried and cried together with our arms around each other. When I looked up, every person in the room was crying, CHen Jun, the director, HaiYing's mother, and Ian.
I am not naive enough to say that every child in one of China's orpahange's is cared for so tenderly, but it is safe to say that for most of our children, they were given the very best love and attention that could be provided, and that many of the nannies give the children so much of themselves. I am greatful in a way I never knew possible for this woman and all that she represents. I do not know if Zoe was one of those children that got a special trip home. I do not want to ask. I DO know that this woman's incredible joy at seeing Zoe is coming from that same place in her heart. And that is all that matters.
Thank you Li Kai Nian!
Hello ChaoHu - and Walmart
There is so much to write and so little time. The last 36 hours have been incredible aand that is an understanment. our trip to Anhui was uneventful, and we were met at the aiport by Hai Ying, her mother and daughter, and our great guide, Chen Jun. She is great. We arrived at ChaoHu International Hotel and found the director, Cai Rong, AND one of Zoe's old nannies, Li Kai Nian, waiting for us. Zoe was withdrawn but did warm up to Hai Ying after a bit. Only a matter ot time By evening everyone was doing well.
We exchanged gifts, took photos, all in our hotel room, doors open, with curious onlookers peering in. The staff all knew that a hometown girl had returned and there was a lot of interest. We then went across the street for a simple lunch, and back to our hotel room for more talking. This time, the former orpahange director, the nanny, our interpreter and Hain Ying and mom floating in and out, spent a lot of time talking about the conditions of the orpahange, the general abadonment situation in ChaoHu (dropping dramatically) the number of children in the CWI (12....if a big adoption group came there would be no children left), the general feelings towards the current director (horrible) and the confirmation that in about two years Anhui's international adoption program may come to an end. Attitudes are changing very quickly here, and if XCHaoHu's skyline is any indication, it makes Beijing's growth look rather pale by comparision. This is a city, population 400,000, on absolute overdrive.
CahoHu Parents: If you have driven the Hefei, ChaoHu highway, know that it is becoming one long conintuious road of homes and buisnesses and factories. But nothing prepares us for the change WITHIN the city. We were here in 2001, 2006 and now 2008. We were struck by the growth from 2001 to 2006, but the growth from 2006 to now cannot even be explained. Mile and miles of housing units, shopping centers, MILES OF IT! And yes, I have seen the broken ground where the new Walmart Supercenter is being built. Walmart has arrived in ChaoHu!!!
After a couple of hours in the hotel talking, Hai Ying informed us that we were going to meet friends of hers for dinner. Our lunch had been very simple, so I was not too sure what awaited us. What awaited us was a meal in a very nice private banquet room, with three friends of Hai Yings. We were treated to a feast, loads of rice wine, and ENDLESS toasts.....ENDLESS. One person stands up and directs their toast to one other individual, then both srink/sip/down, depending on the toast. We were toasted by everyone, we toasted everyone, the girls toasted everyone, you get the picture. Then, Hai Yings freind, Mr. Lee, invited us the next day to some sightseeing around ChaoHu, to which we readily agreed. We merrily made our way back to the hotel where everyone came BACK up to our room, collected their gifts, then said their goodnights.
For part two...read the next post.
We exchanged gifts, took photos, all in our hotel room, doors open, with curious onlookers peering in. The staff all knew that a hometown girl had returned and there was a lot of interest. We then went across the street for a simple lunch, and back to our hotel room for more talking. This time, the former orpahange director, the nanny, our interpreter and Hain Ying and mom floating in and out, spent a lot of time talking about the conditions of the orpahange, the general abadonment situation in ChaoHu (dropping dramatically) the number of children in the CWI (12....if a big adoption group came there would be no children left), the general feelings towards the current director (horrible) and the confirmation that in about two years Anhui's international adoption program may come to an end. Attitudes are changing very quickly here, and if XCHaoHu's skyline is any indication, it makes Beijing's growth look rather pale by comparision. This is a city, population 400,000, on absolute overdrive.
CahoHu Parents: If you have driven the Hefei, ChaoHu highway, know that it is becoming one long conintuious road of homes and buisnesses and factories. But nothing prepares us for the change WITHIN the city. We were here in 2001, 2006 and now 2008. We were struck by the growth from 2001 to 2006, but the growth from 2006 to now cannot even be explained. Mile and miles of housing units, shopping centers, MILES OF IT! And yes, I have seen the broken ground where the new Walmart Supercenter is being built. Walmart has arrived in ChaoHu!!!
After a couple of hours in the hotel talking, Hai Ying informed us that we were going to meet friends of hers for dinner. Our lunch had been very simple, so I was not too sure what awaited us. What awaited us was a meal in a very nice private banquet room, with three friends of Hai Yings. We were treated to a feast, loads of rice wine, and ENDLESS toasts.....ENDLESS. One person stands up and directs their toast to one other individual, then both srink/sip/down, depending on the toast. We were toasted by everyone, we toasted everyone, the girls toasted everyone, you get the picture. Then, Hai Yings freind, Mr. Lee, invited us the next day to some sightseeing around ChaoHu, to which we readily agreed. We merrily made our way back to the hotel where everyone came BACK up to our room, collected their gifts, then said their goodnights.
For part two...read the next post.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Bye Bye Beijing
Today we made the trip out to the Summer Palace. Ian and I have the bad luck of visiting this place in bad weather. The winds have kicked up, and between the sand, dust and pollution, the air quality was bad and it was a grimy, dirty, day. But the Summer Palace, once the weekend fun spot of the emperor and his mum, is always a real treat. Huge and absolutely stunning, even if covered in a layer of dirt and grime. Joan, our friend from Hefei and who is a student here, went with us and acted as our guide. She also helped us to use the bus (a real bus, not a private, 18 seater for five) and helped us save a ton of money.
Almost as interesting (to me) was the drive through the University area on the way to the Summer Palace. We were amazed by QingHua (sp?) University, the seat of China's science and technology education. There were HUGE buildings devoted (paid for) to Microsoft, Google, Unis, Sun, etc. I wish the average American could see what our competition is. It's not for lack of people trying to give Americans the heads up on what our competition is, I just think most of us in the States just don't get it. When you see the capital investment in this part of the city, the HUGE new buildings being put in to house and train China's up and coming science and tech leaders, it does rather strike one as frightening when we look at CA's decimated education budget. We have only ourselves to blame.
By the time we were back we had missed lunch, so found a little hole in the wall place near our hotel. And while I had grand visions of striking out again this afternoon, we all just lazed around, napped, and got caught up on sleep. Tomorrow is a big day, when we head south and out of the big city and into a very different China. This time tomorrow we will have met up with Zoe's nannies and previous director of the orpahange, and will be ready to lay our heads on pillows in our oldest daughter's hometown. ChaoHu was a closed city when we attempted to stay in 2001, and if it is now, Hai Ying has found a way for us to stay, and that is where we will be for the next two nights. Ability to post might be quite limited, but we will try.
Tonight I had a long talk with our hotel manager, a young guy who speaks three languages and who has taken a very keen interest in the girls and the adoption issue. We've spent an hour tonight talking about the future of this country...the country the girls left and the one that they stand to inherit should they choose to return to study or work. It is humbling to make these connections. He told me that I should save his number so that when the girls got older and were ever back, they could feel free to contact him for any assistance they might need.
It is hard to explain, but Beijing feels both overwhelming and frightening, and also like home.
Lisa
Almost as interesting (to me) was the drive through the University area on the way to the Summer Palace. We were amazed by QingHua (sp?) University, the seat of China's science and technology education. There were HUGE buildings devoted (paid for) to Microsoft, Google, Unis, Sun, etc. I wish the average American could see what our competition is. It's not for lack of people trying to give Americans the heads up on what our competition is, I just think most of us in the States just don't get it. When you see the capital investment in this part of the city, the HUGE new buildings being put in to house and train China's up and coming science and tech leaders, it does rather strike one as frightening when we look at CA's decimated education budget. We have only ourselves to blame.
By the time we were back we had missed lunch, so found a little hole in the wall place near our hotel. And while I had grand visions of striking out again this afternoon, we all just lazed around, napped, and got caught up on sleep. Tomorrow is a big day, when we head south and out of the big city and into a very different China. This time tomorrow we will have met up with Zoe's nannies and previous director of the orpahange, and will be ready to lay our heads on pillows in our oldest daughter's hometown. ChaoHu was a closed city when we attempted to stay in 2001, and if it is now, Hai Ying has found a way for us to stay, and that is where we will be for the next two nights. Ability to post might be quite limited, but we will try.
Tonight I had a long talk with our hotel manager, a young guy who speaks three languages and who has taken a very keen interest in the girls and the adoption issue. We've spent an hour tonight talking about the future of this country...the country the girls left and the one that they stand to inherit should they choose to return to study or work. It is humbling to make these connections. He told me that I should save his number so that when the girls got older and were ever back, they could feel free to contact him for any assistance they might need.
It is hard to explain, but Beijing feels both overwhelming and frightening, and also like home.
Lisa
Change, Change Everywhere.....
We started the day by visiting the old hutong sand taking a rickshaw tour through them. So much has changed. When we visited this area in the late 1990s, the lakes were in the process of being dredged, getting ready for the Olympic bid and the Asian games (I think). Ian and I commented that if this area ever got nice, it would be filled with expensive stores, bars and restaurants......
Well, that day has arrived and the place has been transformed. The Drum Tower has been given a nice facelift and renovated nicely. There are dozens of little tea shops and cafes, bars and pubs, shops and artsy kinds of places. Driving past it tonight was also amazing..all lit up. Now of course there is not one hutong tour company but rather 3-4, and the stops and the 'see and buy' orpportunites have increased immensely. What used to be a leisurely peddle through the hutong with a couple of stops is now a constant on/off -open the wallet kind of experience. I shouldn't complain. I would still recommend it highly to first-timers to Beijing, but it lacked luster for me. $120 later we pried ourselves away from the whining guides who were pleading for big tips and went sprinting to a taxi.
Next stop: TIENANMEN SQUARE. Girls were getting tired so we promised them McDonalds. Wasn't there a McDOnalds next to the KFC (of famous repute as that as were Tienanmen Student Leader, Chai Ling met undercover with Western reporters in 1989). Anyway, no McDonalds, and the bribe failed, but the girls were given an option "KFC or real food" and THEY OPTED FOR REAL FOOD. Had a great Chinese lunch off the Square with the girls downing noodles and dumplings and Ian and I indulging in salt/pepper cuttlefish and eggplant/dried fish. YUM! Oh, and we treated outselves to a glass of Great Wall Cabernet. Yes, there IS such a thing.
We came back to the hotel and spent a couple of hours watching DVDs (girls), checking email (Ian) and mom taking a brief nap. Then it was off to the Lido Holiday Inn where I could take a trip down memory lane.
When I used to come to Beijig every March for the Beijing International School's Model United Nations conference, my friend and I used to stay at the Lido. There was a great market, since demolished, and replaced with a newer, more upscale vanue, fitting for the incredible development in this area. I think the changes in Beijing struck me most tonight. I walked out the side enterance of the Lido knowing exactly what I should see and was unprepared for the site I DID see. Total transformation! In six years!! There is a lot of money floating around in Beijing...you see it in the lights, the restaurants, the buildings, the cars, the prices. Still, I felt some of that shopping mania come back as I walked the halls of the new Lido market (called Sunny Gold something......) . Olympic Mascot stuffed animals dropped in price from $7 each to a mere $1.75 each. The only thing stopping me was my limited luggage capacity at the moment. We did emerge with a new pair of red converse for Zoe, a Pokemon Gameboy game, some Pokemon trading cards, and a barbie tshirt for Mae. Stopped at the local shop for wine, cheese, icrecream and gum, and called it a night. The girls were asleep in the taxi before we had travelled three blocks.
And then, more buildings, all new, all HUGE, big impressive buildings.....drove down restaurant street (forget the name) with hundreds upon hundreds of red lanterns.....Lights, neon, more lanterns. This is hard to explain, but the sheer quanity of it all is overwhelming. I rolled m\down my window twice and yelled "OH GOD, check it out" because I just can't get my mind wrapped around the changes here.Ian thinks this is a different city, and bemoans the great reduction in the number of bikes on the roads.
Ian very much wants to return to the Summer Palace tomorrow and I the Temple of Heaven. Joan will meet us and we will taxi it around the western part of Beijing tomorrow....our last full day in Beijing until late next week. We head to ChaoHu on Wednesday afternoon where HaiYIng will pick us up at the airport in Hefei.
We now own a cellphone! If you get some strange, cryptic message from an 'out of area' number, it might just be from Beijing!
Lisa
Well, that day has arrived and the place has been transformed. The Drum Tower has been given a nice facelift and renovated nicely. There are dozens of little tea shops and cafes, bars and pubs, shops and artsy kinds of places. Driving past it tonight was also amazing..all lit up. Now of course there is not one hutong tour company but rather 3-4, and the stops and the 'see and buy' orpportunites have increased immensely. What used to be a leisurely peddle through the hutong with a couple of stops is now a constant on/off -open the wallet kind of experience. I shouldn't complain. I would still recommend it highly to first-timers to Beijing, but it lacked luster for me. $120 later we pried ourselves away from the whining guides who were pleading for big tips and went sprinting to a taxi.
Next stop: TIENANMEN SQUARE. Girls were getting tired so we promised them McDonalds. Wasn't there a McDOnalds next to the KFC (of famous repute as that as were Tienanmen Student Leader, Chai Ling met undercover with Western reporters in 1989). Anyway, no McDonalds, and the bribe failed, but the girls were given an option "KFC or real food" and THEY OPTED FOR REAL FOOD. Had a great Chinese lunch off the Square with the girls downing noodles and dumplings and Ian and I indulging in salt/pepper cuttlefish and eggplant/dried fish. YUM! Oh, and we treated outselves to a glass of Great Wall Cabernet. Yes, there IS such a thing.
We came back to the hotel and spent a couple of hours watching DVDs (girls), checking email (Ian) and mom taking a brief nap. Then it was off to the Lido Holiday Inn where I could take a trip down memory lane.
When I used to come to Beijig every March for the Beijing International School's Model United Nations conference, my friend and I used to stay at the Lido. There was a great market, since demolished, and replaced with a newer, more upscale vanue, fitting for the incredible development in this area. I think the changes in Beijing struck me most tonight. I walked out the side enterance of the Lido knowing exactly what I should see and was unprepared for the site I DID see. Total transformation! In six years!! There is a lot of money floating around in Beijing...you see it in the lights, the restaurants, the buildings, the cars, the prices. Still, I felt some of that shopping mania come back as I walked the halls of the new Lido market (called Sunny Gold something......) . Olympic Mascot stuffed animals dropped in price from $7 each to a mere $1.75 each. The only thing stopping me was my limited luggage capacity at the moment. We did emerge with a new pair of red converse for Zoe, a Pokemon Gameboy game, some Pokemon trading cards, and a barbie tshirt for Mae. Stopped at the local shop for wine, cheese, icrecream and gum, and called it a night. The girls were asleep in the taxi before we had travelled three blocks.
And then, more buildings, all new, all HUGE, big impressive buildings.....drove down restaurant street (forget the name) with hundreds upon hundreds of red lanterns.....Lights, neon, more lanterns. This is hard to explain, but the sheer quanity of it all is overwhelming. I rolled m\down my window twice and yelled "OH GOD, check it out" because I just can't get my mind wrapped around the changes here.Ian thinks this is a different city, and bemoans the great reduction in the number of bikes on the roads.
Ian very much wants to return to the Summer Palace tomorrow and I the Temple of Heaven. Joan will meet us and we will taxi it around the western part of Beijing tomorrow....our last full day in Beijing until late next week. We head to ChaoHu on Wednesday afternoon where HaiYIng will pick us up at the airport in Hefei.
We now own a cellphone! If you get some strange, cryptic message from an 'out of area' number, it might just be from Beijing!
Lisa
Sunday, March 16, 2008
The Bus and the Great Wall
I started my day by sitting in the hotel's little courtyard lounge, sipping tea, the girls in high spirits, gazing out onto the little courtyard...and crying because I was so damn happy!
Mae discovered a passion for kiwi juice, and Zoe ate an entire steamed bun, declaring it was the best thing she had ever eaten, and then we went for what we thought would be an hour walk before Joan and a driver came to get us to take us to the Great Wall....As we got to the end of the Hutong, here came Joan in a BUS. Her friend who drives for their work, volunteered his bus and we had an 18 seater all to ourselves. Now we are spoiled, but it was a great way to travel out to the Great Wall. We went to the Badaling section; had never been to this part before. It is the closest to Beijing and the most 'overbuilt' . But there are no tram cars here, and the walk, once you got on the wall, was STRAIGHT UP. REALLY STEEP. Zoe ran up, with Mae and Joan not far behind, but Ian and I struggled. Well worth it. It was shirtsleeve weather, moderately clear with good views.
Stopped for lunch at a toursity kind of place, where you walk through miles of jade shops to get to the food. Our only purchase was a pack of cantalope gum, introduced to us by Joan two years ago and a favorite of the girls. We ration it back at home. With our $2 purchase, we proceeded to a nice meal, then back onto the bus. We took a swing past the Olympic venues...the Bird's Nest is incredible! A bit dusy...there were men working on the outside of it, and they looked like little ants from the distance; the water cube for the diving events was next to that, and they are both SO IMPRESSIVE. It was a thrill to see them. Lots of locals lined up on the edge of the expressway, taking photos of it too, just like me hanging out of the bus! A lot of pride in these venues, understandably.
We purchased a mobile phone, thinking we might use it again on other trips. Will try texting a few of you to see if we can really get it to work.
Ian and I made the mistake of taking a nap this afternoon. The girls watched Chinese version of Donald Duck. By the time we were ready for dinner, they were falling asleep. We went to a dumpling restaurant around the corner where the two girls promptly fell asleep, leaving Ian and I to manuver through dinner with a girl on our lap, LOTS of curious looks, and one hand to consume plates of dumplings and fried corn! Very nice meal for about $11. We will be back, I am sure.
A few thoughts about Beijing. Since I was last here in 2002 (and Ian in 1997), the skyline has shot up. There is an even greater feeling of prosperity; lots of people walking dogs, many fewer bicycles, streets VERY clean, more English spoken, a slightly hipper and trendier Beijing than I remember. We are looking forward to visiting a few of the areas we spent time in on previous trips. But the change is there!
A great day one...busy but not too busy. As long as the girls get to chew gum, they seem happy. We may not get a parenting award (I whispered to Mae as we were trying to have a family photo on the Great Wall and she was NOT going to cooperate "Mae, if you turn around and smile for a nice picture you can have a little coke when we get to the bottom'....) but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. So far, it is working.
Mae discovered a passion for kiwi juice, and Zoe ate an entire steamed bun, declaring it was the best thing she had ever eaten, and then we went for what we thought would be an hour walk before Joan and a driver came to get us to take us to the Great Wall....As we got to the end of the Hutong, here came Joan in a BUS. Her friend who drives for their work, volunteered his bus and we had an 18 seater all to ourselves. Now we are spoiled, but it was a great way to travel out to the Great Wall. We went to the Badaling section; had never been to this part before. It is the closest to Beijing and the most 'overbuilt' . But there are no tram cars here, and the walk, once you got on the wall, was STRAIGHT UP. REALLY STEEP. Zoe ran up, with Mae and Joan not far behind, but Ian and I struggled. Well worth it. It was shirtsleeve weather, moderately clear with good views.
Stopped for lunch at a toursity kind of place, where you walk through miles of jade shops to get to the food. Our only purchase was a pack of cantalope gum, introduced to us by Joan two years ago and a favorite of the girls. We ration it back at home. With our $2 purchase, we proceeded to a nice meal, then back onto the bus. We took a swing past the Olympic venues...the Bird's Nest is incredible! A bit dusy...there were men working on the outside of it, and they looked like little ants from the distance; the water cube for the diving events was next to that, and they are both SO IMPRESSIVE. It was a thrill to see them. Lots of locals lined up on the edge of the expressway, taking photos of it too, just like me hanging out of the bus! A lot of pride in these venues, understandably.
We purchased a mobile phone, thinking we might use it again on other trips. Will try texting a few of you to see if we can really get it to work.
Ian and I made the mistake of taking a nap this afternoon. The girls watched Chinese version of Donald Duck. By the time we were ready for dinner, they were falling asleep. We went to a dumpling restaurant around the corner where the two girls promptly fell asleep, leaving Ian and I to manuver through dinner with a girl on our lap, LOTS of curious looks, and one hand to consume plates of dumplings and fried corn! Very nice meal for about $11. We will be back, I am sure.
A few thoughts about Beijing. Since I was last here in 2002 (and Ian in 1997), the skyline has shot up. There is an even greater feeling of prosperity; lots of people walking dogs, many fewer bicycles, streets VERY clean, more English spoken, a slightly hipper and trendier Beijing than I remember. We are looking forward to visiting a few of the areas we spent time in on previous trips. But the change is there!
A great day one...busy but not too busy. As long as the girls get to chew gum, they seem happy. We may not get a parenting award (I whispered to Mae as we were trying to have a family photo on the Great Wall and she was NOT going to cooperate "Mae, if you turn around and smile for a nice picture you can have a little coke when we get to the bottom'....) but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. So far, it is working.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Welcome to Beijing!
Hello...This is Lisa's friend Becky. I get to travel along in cyberspace since Lisa can't access the blog from behind the Great Wall. They made it safely - hurray! Of course Zoe left her glasses and Lisa left her cellphone at my house the night before (they were retrieved in time).
This is the first email from DAY ONE. Sounds like they are not roughing it so far. OK - enough comments from the editor...on to the first post!
After long and uneventful flights, we arrived safely in Beijing. Car/driver and translator were there to take us to hotel, although we believe the driver had purchased his license on the black market and drove as such. We hadn't even left the parking garage at the airport (a very nice garage I would like to mention) when he got himself entangled with a poll and messed up the side of his car. Then, the driver who we paid to take us to our small hutong hotel, couldn't find it, and while it was fun for the first thirty minutes, it wasn't fun the last thrity minutes.
But the hotel is AWESOME! We have the family room upstairs...not on the courtyard but still a nice big room with two kang style beds, thick quilts, wooden, red-painted beams, pained windows, silk curtains etc. It is just too cool. We had girl scouts cookies and coke for a midnight snack and are now waiting for our breakfast of steamed buns and then our ride with our friend Joan to the Great Wall.
Check out the hotel at www.tanghotel.cn.
Will write more later. So far, we are safe and sound, well-rested, and happy to be here!
Lisa
This is the first email from DAY ONE. Sounds like they are not roughing it so far. OK - enough comments from the editor...on to the first post!
After long and uneventful flights, we arrived safely in Beijing. Car/driver and translator were there to take us to hotel, although we believe the driver had purchased his license on the black market and drove as such. We hadn't even left the parking garage at the airport (a very nice garage I would like to mention) when he got himself entangled with a poll and messed up the side of his car. Then, the driver who we paid to take us to our small hutong hotel, couldn't find it, and while it was fun for the first thirty minutes, it wasn't fun the last thrity minutes.
But the hotel is AWESOME! We have the family room upstairs...not on the courtyard but still a nice big room with two kang style beds, thick quilts, wooden, red-painted beams, pained windows, silk curtains etc. It is just too cool. We had girl scouts cookies and coke for a midnight snack and are now waiting for our breakfast of steamed buns and then our ride with our friend Joan to the Great Wall.
Check out the hotel at www.tanghotel.cn.
Will write more later. So far, we are safe and sound, well-rested, and happy to be here!
Lisa
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Photos
I'm not very tech savy. These may be the only photos I can post until we get back. Hope this gives you a flavor of what's in store.
Next post....BEIJING!
Next post....BEIJING!
Set....
I think we are ready to go. Everyone, including Zoe, has been putting in long hours in preparation. Trans-Pacific flights are made for sleeping, and we need to catch up on a lot of it.
Only Winston seems somewhat oblivious to all the goings on, although when he saw the girl's suitcases, he did get a bit alarmed. The last time we were gone he showed his displeasure by tearing apart one of our sofas. I know he is already thinking of evil things to do while we are away.
Please tell me if Zoe is throwing a gang sign or something in this photo. She has started saying "yo" too. Maybe a trip to China will break this bad habit.
All I have to do is download a few more songs onto my iPod and find our High School Musical I CD to add to it. Must test our nifty little speaker system as well. One needs perfect mood music for long drives through rural China. Shanghai Restoration Project for mom (Chinese electronica) and Disney stuff for the girls. I hope our driver likes Corbin Bleu!
Only Winston seems somewhat oblivious to all the goings on, although when he saw the girl's suitcases, he did get a bit alarmed. The last time we were gone he showed his displeasure by tearing apart one of our sofas. I know he is already thinking of evil things to do while we are away.
Please tell me if Zoe is throwing a gang sign or something in this photo. She has started saying "yo" too. Maybe a trip to China will break this bad habit.
All I have to do is download a few more songs onto my iPod and find our High School Musical I CD to add to it. Must test our nifty little speaker system as well. One needs perfect mood music for long drives through rural China. Shanghai Restoration Project for mom (Chinese electronica) and Disney stuff for the girls. I hope our driver likes Corbin Bleu!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The Itinerary
This has been the subject of quite a bit of discussion. Here is the itinerary, roughly-
Beijing
Plane to Hefei, transfer to ChaoHu
Visit to ChaoHu and Zoe's hometown
Private transport to Zhaji, a village in southwest Anhui
A weekend in a Ming-era courtyard B&B
Transfer to Huangshan-day in Tunxi
Overnight train to Nanchang, Jiangxi
Full day in Nanchang and a visit to Walmart (Mae wants to buy the NingDU babies some new clothes)
Transportation to NingDu and overnight stay in Mae's hometown
Transfer to Nanchang and overnight train to Beijing
Beijing
If this can be truly done as a fully independent traveller...we will let you know March 31. Wish us well.
Beijing
Plane to Hefei, transfer to ChaoHu
Visit to ChaoHu and Zoe's hometown
Private transport to Zhaji, a village in southwest Anhui
A weekend in a Ming-era courtyard B&B
Transfer to Huangshan-day in Tunxi
Overnight train to Nanchang, Jiangxi
Full day in Nanchang and a visit to Walmart (Mae wants to buy the NingDU babies some new clothes)
Transportation to NingDu and overnight stay in Mae's hometown
Transfer to Nanchang and overnight train to Beijing
Beijing
If this can be truly done as a fully independent traveller...we will let you know March 31. Wish us well.
Call Me "Ms. Flexible"
OK, anyone who knows me well is laughing.....a bit driven, type-A, uber focused at times....flexibility is not on my top ten lists of attributes....
But if I have learned anything about planning at trip as a FIT (and having read plenty of blogs to drive this point home....) is that independent travel to China requires quite a bit of flexibility, and that is what has BEEN FORCED UPON ME!!!!!
CTS tried to convince me that one to four days before travel to Xian they MIGHT be able to get these train tickets. But we weren't willing to risk it. I felt bad for Ian...this was HIS sidetrip. But the warriors have been there for a mighty long time. Needing no excuse to return to China, we will find a way to pay them a visit in the not too distant future. We are flying to Hefei instead of taking the train to ChaoHu. More logistics to figure out!
So we have added two more days to Beijing, and if the pollution doesn't kill us, we will find PLENTY to do during this time. A short list of Beijing's "To Do" items would take a good week, and now we have a fighting chance of seeing many of them, girls willing.
My other undertaking today, also unsuccessful, was to unlock my phone so that I could take it to China, purchase a SIM card, and be able to use my cell phone while in China. I will do a separate post on this...it is very possible to do this and with the right phone, a very smart way of having ready communication while travelling. But my Nokia phone does not support China telecom's frequency. We are looking into purchasing a phone...Ian thinks we might be able to use this on future trips. If it is afforable, it will be a good move. FITs need mobile communication!
But if I have learned anything about planning at trip as a FIT (and having read plenty of blogs to drive this point home....) is that independent travel to China requires quite a bit of flexibility, and that is what has BEEN FORCED UPON ME!!!!!
CTS tried to convince me that one to four days before travel to Xian they MIGHT be able to get these train tickets. But we weren't willing to risk it. I felt bad for Ian...this was HIS sidetrip. But the warriors have been there for a mighty long time. Needing no excuse to return to China, we will find a way to pay them a visit in the not too distant future. We are flying to Hefei instead of taking the train to ChaoHu. More logistics to figure out!
So we have added two more days to Beijing, and if the pollution doesn't kill us, we will find PLENTY to do during this time. A short list of Beijing's "To Do" items would take a good week, and now we have a fighting chance of seeing many of them, girls willing.
My other undertaking today, also unsuccessful, was to unlock my phone so that I could take it to China, purchase a SIM card, and be able to use my cell phone while in China. I will do a separate post on this...it is very possible to do this and with the right phone, a very smart way of having ready communication while travelling. But my Nokia phone does not support China telecom's frequency. We are looking into purchasing a phone...Ian thinks we might be able to use this on future trips. If it is afforable, it will be a good move. FITs need mobile communication!
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Did I say "House of Cards"?
Here is the email I received this morning, just ten hours after my post last night:
Dear Sir/Madam,
Since you are traveling during National Congress period, the trains from Beijing to Xi'an are all reserved for government use only.The tickets may only opens for sale to public 1 to 5 days in advance. Would you like to wait for the opening or cancel the booking now?Would you like to make flight booking as alternative plan? I am looking forward to your reply as soon as possible.best regards,Alex Ren & Yongmei Chens
Options:
1) Pay through nose for plane tickets with possibility of not seeing the terracota warriors (all those delegates are in Xian for a reason, right?)
2) Wait to see if we get tickets to Xian the day before we are supposed to leave...risk not getting them, and if we can't then risk the strong possibility of not being able to book softsleeper out of Beijing to get to ChaoHu (Zoe's hometown): this is the worst case, house of cards theory.
3) Cancel trip to Xian altogether. Scramble this am to cancel hotel booking in Xian, Train tickets from Xian to ChaoHu, extend hotel reservation in Beijing, look into side trip to Changde....
We've chosen option three. So much for packing today! I have to pull the trip back together.
Dear Sir/Madam,
Since you are traveling during National Congress period, the trains from Beijing to Xi'an are all reserved for government use only.The tickets may only opens for sale to public 1 to 5 days in advance. Would you like to wait for the opening or cancel the booking now?Would you like to make flight booking as alternative plan? I am looking forward to your reply as soon as possible.best regards,Alex Ren & Yongmei Chens
Options:
1) Pay through nose for plane tickets with possibility of not seeing the terracota warriors (all those delegates are in Xian for a reason, right?)
2) Wait to see if we get tickets to Xian the day before we are supposed to leave...risk not getting them, and if we can't then risk the strong possibility of not being able to book softsleeper out of Beijing to get to ChaoHu (Zoe's hometown): this is the worst case, house of cards theory.
3) Cancel trip to Xian altogether. Scramble this am to cancel hotel booking in Xian, Train tickets from Xian to ChaoHu, extend hotel reservation in Beijing, look into side trip to Changde....
We've chosen option three. So much for packing today! I have to pull the trip back together.
Friday, March 07, 2008
We're F.I.T.s
It's official. CTS (China Travel Service) has identified us as 'fully independent travellers'. This is how we are identified on many of our travel docs. What this means is that we prefer to travel without the benefit of 24 hour a day assistance. By being F.I.T.s we are also spared the jade factories, the cloisonne shops, and the tourist (crap) food. But being a F.I.T. in China is not particularly easy, especially when you have a lot of ground to cover and your priority is keeping two kids happy and engaged while dealing with squat toilets, intrusive crowds of people, and jetlag.
One major reason I wanted to start this blog was to document and provide links for the many resources it took make this trip come together. And to prove that one can travel like this with smaller children.
The most challenging aspect of arranging independent travel in China is booking trains. This cannot be done online. You have to identify an agent to do this for you. Some will gladly do this for you, but others will only secure your train tickets if you purchase a package tour. CTS could arrange Beijing/Xian tickets for a $40 surcharge. That was fine! But when we asked them to arrange Xian/ChaoHu tickets (on the Xian/Nanjing line) they insisted on tacking on a private tour with car and guide, shopping trips and lunch included. This would have tacked on $240...about the price of the train tickets. And there was no discount for children...I tried to bargain with them, but was unsuccessful.
We will be on our way to Beijing a week from today, but have not ONE train journey booked or confirmed. I've paid the money up front, but those tickets have not yet gone on sale, and so I wait anxiously for those confirmation emails from our agents. Hopefully we will begin to get our travel confirmations this weekend. At this point our our meticulously planned trip is really just a house of cards.
Here were the three links that proved to be the most helpful:
http://www.seat61.com/China.htm A good overview of train travel in China. Very helpful.
http://www.china-train-ticket.com/#beijing These tickets were quite expensive
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china-trains/ Th most helpful site!!
More on trains later. We are taking four overnight trains, so we will be experts at this by the time we are done!
One major reason I wanted to start this blog was to document and provide links for the many resources it took make this trip come together. And to prove that one can travel like this with smaller children.
The most challenging aspect of arranging independent travel in China is booking trains. This cannot be done online. You have to identify an agent to do this for you. Some will gladly do this for you, but others will only secure your train tickets if you purchase a package tour. CTS could arrange Beijing/Xian tickets for a $40 surcharge. That was fine! But when we asked them to arrange Xian/ChaoHu tickets (on the Xian/Nanjing line) they insisted on tacking on a private tour with car and guide, shopping trips and lunch included. This would have tacked on $240...about the price of the train tickets. And there was no discount for children...I tried to bargain with them, but was unsuccessful.
We will be on our way to Beijing a week from today, but have not ONE train journey booked or confirmed. I've paid the money up front, but those tickets have not yet gone on sale, and so I wait anxiously for those confirmation emails from our agents. Hopefully we will begin to get our travel confirmations this weekend. At this point our our meticulously planned trip is really just a house of cards.
Here were the three links that proved to be the most helpful:
http://www.seat61.com/China.htm A good overview of train travel in China. Very helpful.
http://www.china-train-ticket.com/#beijing These tickets were quite expensive
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china-trains/ Th most helpful site!!
More on trains later. We are taking four overnight trains, so we will be experts at this by the time we are done!
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Ready....
This trip has been eight years in the making. The evening that Beijing won the 2008 Olympic bid, Ian and I swore that we would return to China in 2008 for the Games. Eight years on, two children, and a mortgage or two later, those plans have been changed a bit. Not wanting to spend $15,000 for a ten day trip to stifling Beijing in mid-August, we decided instead to visit Beijing just before her big coming out party. We hear that the final polish is being put on many of the venues, the Forbidden City (sans Starbucks...YEAH!) is gleaming, and yes, the pollution is as bad as ever.
We want to see it all with our own eyes, reconnect with friends that we have made over our 10 years of travel to China, and travel deep into the provinces where our daughters were born, Anhui and Jiangxi. China changes fast! We want to see the China that they were born into. We want to be witness to the changes taking place. We want it to feel familiar to us as a family. We want to be connected to the place.....
....what other reasons could one give for taking off on a 16 day, four province ramble (by train), through central China?
The only person who thinks we are mad is a Chinese friend in Harbin. If others question our sanity, they aren't telling us.
We want to see it all with our own eyes, reconnect with friends that we have made over our 10 years of travel to China, and travel deep into the provinces where our daughters were born, Anhui and Jiangxi. China changes fast! We want to see the China that they were born into. We want to be witness to the changes taking place. We want it to feel familiar to us as a family. We want to be connected to the place.....
....what other reasons could one give for taking off on a 16 day, four province ramble (by train), through central China?
The only person who thinks we are mad is a Chinese friend in Harbin. If others question our sanity, they aren't telling us.
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