Leaving Nanchang...

Saturday Sept. 8th

Saturday Morning

Today we leave Nanchang and fly to Guangzhou. I'm glad we were able to see some of Emily's province and will miss our guide Evelyn. She has been amazing and so responsive to all our needs and questions.

Hopefully, Emily will do well on this short flight. It will be her first time on a plane and she has had a cold all week.

Saturday Evening
 
We are in Guangzhou and beginning the last leg of this trip. Emily did great on the flight here even though she slept for everything except the takeoff. Our new guide, Jocelyn, met us at the airport in a hotel bus to take us to our new hotel, the China Hotel.

This is the hotel where the bathroom and bedroom are separated by a glass wall which is kind of weird. Thankfully there is a screen that can be lowered so there is some privacy. The room here is smaller than the Crowne Plaza but it is not bad.

We have decided to stay in tonight and rest. Emily is busy exploring her new surroundings and I'm sure she thinks this is home. Poor kid doesn't realize that this is just another hotel room and that before we are "home" she will stay in yet a third hotel. She is doing better and better every day. Her personality has really started to come through and she is definitely a spicey little Nanchang girl!  

Tomorrow is a free day and we may catch a cab to Shamian Island.

 



Random Pictures...

  Crowne Plaza Lobby

 Lobby chandalier

 Play time!

 Love my yogurt drinks!

 Mini 'Bama fan

 She lvoes to point

Cuddle time ;o)



The Village - Part II...

Friday Sept. 7th

 

 

 This little guy was too shy to take the candy from us

 

 

Apartments across the river

 



 

Community water pump for dish washing

 

 

Rice paddies across the river

 

 

Men's Restroom

 

 

 

According to our guide most villages consist of one family and only a few people ever leave. It's hard not to wonder if Emily might have come from a place like this. If God had not given her to us, is this the kind of place she would have grown up in? The Chinese seem so matter of fact regarding their circumstances. Mostly they ignore us Americans as they are more concerned with getting through their daily lives. But when they see us with Chinese babies we get the thumbs up sign from people and are told how lucky our girls are. To them Emily has hit the jackpot; she is a lucky girl who will have a future full of plenty. It's hard not to feel for the people who live in this place. I wish that that these children would have better opportunities for their lives. It also gives me an enormous sense of gratitude for what we have. I am so grateful that we have been given the opportunity to be here and see some of the country that gave us Emily but I admit that I'm even more grateful to be able to take this little one back home.

The Village...

Friday Sept. 7th

Today Evelyn took us to a village. We were expecting to see rice paddies and countryside but what we saw was very different. The van turned down a rough unfinished dusty road and stopped in front of a small store. This is where we got out. At the local store (pictured) we stopped to buy some candy for the village children. It was...I'm not really sure how to describe it without being insulting. In front was meat hanging on hooks near the street without refrigeration (not pictured). There were rubber bins lying on the ground full of chicken feet, fish with a hose for aeration, some kind necks - chicken?

Inside the store was dark and smelled indescribable; kind of like rotting fruits and vegetables with a lingering meat smell. It was a rather unpleasant smell for us. There was a few small wire shelves with groceries and tables for the fruits and vegetables; flies were everywhere.

 

We turned down a side street and started walking. The homes were rather large but Evelyn said that the interiors were sparsely and poorly furnished. The people spend their money on the homes not decorations. When they build a home the villagers all help each other with the building and if necessary borrow money from each other to complete construction.

 

 

 

 

 

 





You MinTemple...

Thursday Sept. 6th

Today we went porcelain shopping and to the You Min Buddhist temple.

Nanchang is known for it's porcelain so we decided to pick up something for Emily. Evelyn took a us to a couple shops that she trusts and we looked around both before making our purchases. There was some amazing pieces and beautiful tea sets. We settled on a pearlized porcelain panda for Emily and some porcelain beaded bracelets as gifts.



I don't believe in Buddhism but I will say that the temple is a peaceful place. If I remember correctly Evelyn said this temple was about 1,000 + years old.  Like many other historical sites here this one has been destroyed and rebuilt over the years. While we were there some kind of ceremony was taking place and we were able to watch the monks of the temple pray but didn't take any pictures of them.

 

 

 

Later in the afternoon Evelyn had a calligraphy artist come to our room and paint a silk wall hanging for Emily and Amy (Josh and Kelly Foote's little one). The painting has her Chinese name, birth date, birth city and four wishes from Matt and I in Chinese. We wished her love, happiness, health and prosperity. We will hang it on her bedroom wall once we are home.

 

 

Amy's hanging on the left and Emily's on the right

Teng Wang Pavillion...

Wednesday Sept. 5th

Today we went with the Foote family to the Tengwang Pavilion which is on the Gan river northwest of Nanchang. Evelyn acted as our tour guide and told us the story of the pavilion. It was built by Prince Teng, the younger brother of the Emperor. The original building is close to 1,300 years old although it has been rebuilt about 29 times.

We walked to the top, 89 steps, to see a short traditional Chinese music show. The costumes were beautiful and the room itself was very ornate but hot. After the music show we walked down through each level to look at the views and history of the pavilion. We were also able to take a short break in the beautiful gardens. 

The views and history showcased inside are amazing so I will let the pictures do the talking.

 

 Dream of Lin Chuan

 

 

Pictures of important men throughout history

 

 

Happy Budda

 



 

Foot binding

 



 

After our tour Evelyn took us to a local restaurant so we could enjoy some authentic Chinese food.  We had broccoli with garlic, beef and vegetables, a spicy beef dish with hot peppers, sweet and sour pork which was great but nothing like the deep fried stuff we get at home. Everything was very fresh, we were told that the Chinese go to the market every day for their daily meal.

BTW... the dates on the pictures are all a day behind becasue the camera was set to eastern standard time ;op