Last Day in China

It is our last day in China. We are back in Beijing where we started, in the hotel where we started. We fly out this afternoon.

This has been a once in a lifetime experience. Would I do it again knowing what I know now? Absolutely!!! There is no replacement - nothing we could do - that could provide our family with what we've experienced here.

I personally could travel the world 365 days of the year and be perfectly happy - I would never be bored. I think Craig could take it or leave it. My kids? They are ready to come home.

Last Day of Touring

Today was our last day of sightseeing. And only our second day of rain for the whole trip, which is amazing because this is the rainy season in the south. We started in the Guangzhou Park to see the statue of the Five Goats. This is the symbol of Guangzhou.

These rock carvings tell the story of the five goats. There was a drought here ... 5 immortals rode 5 goats here. If you look in the goat's mouth in the statue, you will see rice plants. The roughly carved rocks below are the five immortals. The one on the left is giving the rice plants to the people.

The immortals teach the people to plant and grow rice. The immortals leave and the five goats stay.

In this rock carving, it shows the harvest is successful and the people are celebrating with music and dancing.

Liam and our guide Elvin did some bonding while sharing an umbrella.

Next we went to the Chen Clan Academy. The surname Chen is the #1 surname in Guangzhou and number four in the country. In 1890, all of the Chen families, rich and poor, came together and built this academy. All Chens, rich or poor, could be educated here.

This is a wood carved screen carved from wood removed from the property in the building of the academy. Such amazing art and architecture in traditional Chinese style. 

When the country came under communist rule, the government took this property from the Chen family. Now even the Chen family has to pay to come here.

In 2004 and again in 2009, we passed through Shamian Island in Guangzhou on our adoption journey as did every other family in those days because this is where the Chinese consulate was. Most families stayed at the White Swan Hotel. And every travel group took pictures of their babies on one of the red couches at the White Swan. It was tradition. This is a picture of Liam's red couch picture with the four other babies from our group of 20+ babies who were from Guangdong province where Guangzhou is.

Today we returned to Shamian Island for the first time in 9 years. 

When we came with Kyra at age 5, we found a bronze statue that looked just like her. We tried to replicate the photo we took then. There are amazing bronze statues of everyday people doing everyday things all over the island.

We posed for this picture in front of the waterfall both times we were here.

The White Swan was closed for five years for renovations and just opened two years ago. All of the red couches are gone except one. One red couch remains in memory of all the families who passed through here on their adoption journeys. 

Our kids look a lot bigger on the red couch now.

The huge jade ship is still here.

They've blocked off the walkway where you could go watch the fish.

For the 35th anniversary, they've installed a holographic swan.

After 18 amazing days of touring, I think our kids are done.

SWI Visit

Liam had a very special visit to his SWI today. As I had written before, we didn't know how this was going to go and we weren't going to be able to meet his foster family. What a surprise for Liam!

Liam's foster mother, who lives nearby, just happened to be walking by with her present foster child

 in front of the SWI and recognized Liam! (This is what we were told by our guide.) She was so happy to see him and said he looks just the same as when he was 2! Liam was happy to see her. It warmed my heart. This is the woman who raised him for the 2nd year of his life. She saw his first steps and heard his first words. She told us stories about teaching him to walk. He walked late, but she would take him to the mountain and let him walk and walk. Before he could walk, she would carry him on her back or front in a pack. He was a very easy baby.

We went to see the room where Liam was for six months before that. The baby room is sponsored by Half the Sky -- now The Sky. It is a US charity that makes sure there are more nannies per baby. As in Kyra's SWI, all of the children in the orphanage are now special needs. Kyra's orphanage only had 7 children. There are 500 children at Liam's SWI and 500 in foster care. 99% are special needs.

Liam is giving baby rattles to the nannies for the babies.

This would have been where Liam would have slept as a baby.

Liam handed out finger puppets and wind-up toys to some kindergartners. We also gave toys and fruit gummy snacks to the children at Kyra's SWI, but I didn't get any pictures. All of the children were so happy to get treats!

This dear little guy wanted us to wind his toy again before we had to leave.

I could have stayed all day and all week and played with the babies and children. It was so hard to leave them there.

Liam got to say goodbye to his foster mother.

She was happy to see him healthy and happy and well taken care of. She told him to be good and study hard.

We went to a meeting room to meet with the new director. They had this sign projected on a screen.

The director had a gift for Liam. It was a photo album with pictures of the SWI and his room and cribs there.

We spent a long time in the meeting room with doctor, nurse and staff who were all there when Liam was. They asked questions, looked at the photo album we gave them of Liam growing up and told them stories. They were so happy to see Liam healthy, well taken care of, and getting a good education. They were very impressed with his Destination Imagination accomplishments.

We were invited for a special lunch at the SWI with the staff. They were happy to see how much Liam likes Chinese food.

Then we took some farewell photos.

Liam was very happy with his visit. I could tell he felt special. All the staff said many times that they would always be his SWI family and would always care about him. They want him to come back and visit whenever and as often as he wants to. It touches me to the core that they still care so much.

Guangzhou

We are staying at the Garden Hotel and it is beautiful.

It was mostly a quiet day for relaxing. This afternoon we went to the records building to review HLiam's records. Our guide, Elvin, photobombed the picture of the building. 😀 He was very patient in translating all of Liam's records, some of which we had never seen. 

It used to be when you adopted from China, everyone had to go through Guangzhou to meet with the Chinese consulate. I believe there is another consulate in Shanghai now. Anyway, anyone who passes through Guangzhou now on their adoption journey has traditionally stayed at the White Swan Hotel (where we stayed) or the Garden Hotel. As the adoption numbers decreased, the White Swan renovated and now caters to the business crowd. The Garden Hotel still accommodates adoptive families and this evening we were invited to attend a reception for adoptive families held here Thursday night. I am so excited to visit with families who are on their adoption journey!

,

Guilin to Guangzhou

Our last night in Guilin, we went out and walked around the lake. The Sun and Moon pagodas were beautiful.

Every evening the side of our hotel turns into a huge waterfall that is in the Guinness Book of World Records. I only took a video, so no picture.

A hotel employee dressed in the costume of a minority group. 

We toured the Reed Flute Cave. In 1944 during WW II, a few thousand people hid from the Japanese in this huge cave of stalagmites and stalactites.

A Christmas tree rock formation.

Ever since I read the book The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See, I've been fascinated with tea. So when our guide asked if we wanted to visit a tea plantation, I jumped at the chance.

Tea bushes with the mountains of Guilin in the background.

A demonstration of how the hand-picked organic tea leaves are processed for green tea. So interesting!

Then we went to taste yellow tea, "ladies tea," and their compressed tea.

It was a lovely tea ceremony. The kids loved the tea and they don't like tea. I think it was because these were such expensive teas that we tasted. A medium sized cake of the compressed tea -- $200 USD! Well, the taste I had was really good!

We arrived in Guangzhou with heavy hearts this evening. We found out a couple of days ago that Liam would not be able to meet his foster parents as planned. It is a complicated and frustrating story about a system with a skewered view that places their reputation before the needs of the children. Liam is disappointed. I am angry. I am praying his visit to the SWI goes well although we were never introduced to a nanny there so we will see.

Meanwhile, our evening here in Guangzhou has felt more like New York City. There is an import/export fair here at the hotel with attendees from everywhere, so this is the most diversity I've seen in China. And just to give it that extra USA feel -- we had dinner at Pizza Hut. It felt very plain.