Our trip to China
On Thursday night we had a group dinner to mark the end of the trip. Most of the group had to catch a shuttle to the airport at 5:30 am the next morning so needless to say it didn’t go on too late.
Fearless leader Cindy Wong apparently needs some R&R. When you use a baby bottle as a microphone and to make a toast, its time for a break!
Looks like Bill’s been watching too many nature documentaries!
Most of the groups that stay at the White Swan end up taking a group picture of the kids on one of the red couches in the sitting area. Once the girls are placed on the couch, you pretty much have about a second and a half to take the picture before the girls decide they’ve had enough. Clearly we didn’t quite make it this time. Grace Caudill had a cold so she’s not in this picture.
Here are the older siblings.
Wednesday evening some of us took a dinner cruise on the Pearl River. It lasted about an hour and a half. After dinner we went up to the upper deck to enjoy some spectacular views of the colorful buildings lining the river.
This is the White Swan Hotel. If you look closely you can see Bill, Ewa, and Kate waving from the 13th floor 
On Wednesday we finished up the final paperwork step: picking up the entry visas that allow the girls to enter the United States. Cindy and Wu Jia had done all of the legwork the previous day so all we had to do was go to the US Consulate to pick them up. No cameras or cell phones were allowed inside security so no pictures.
On Tuesday the girls had their pre-immigration physical. The US Immigration Service (USCIS) requires a medical checkup and verification of their immunizations before they will be allowed to enter the country.
The medical center is a short walk from the hotel but we had to make a stop on the way to get visa photos for the girls.
Everybody seems to have survived!
After a 50 minute plane ride and a 30 minute bus ride, we arrived at our home for the next few days, the White Swan Hotel. As you can see the conditions we will have to endure are pretty terrible, but we will somehow tough it out:-)
On Saturday, the group got on the bus for a trip to Fuzhou, the city that the girls are from. It gave us a chance to get out of the city and see some of the countryside. We ate lunch at a very nice Chinese restaurant in Fuzhou before returning to Nanchang.
Everywhere we’ve been in China, from Beijing to Nanchang to Fuzhou, we have seen incredible amounts of construction!
On one of our trips to Bayi park, some of the group stopped for lunch at the restaurant shown here with the green awning. We noticed this temple sort of hidden around the corner and decided to take a look. It turned out to be quite incredible. Unfortunately no photographs were allowed inside any of the buildings so we can’t show you the best parts but here are some pictures of the courtyard areas.
You Min Temple was built during the Tianjian years (502-519) of the Liang Dynasty (502-557). It was originally named Da Fo Temple and is (or was, the translations are not clear) also known as “Help The People’s Temple.
One of the rooms contains a huge copper Buddha statue that is 5.3 meters (17 feet) high and weighs 18,000 kilograms (39,683 pounds).
This gentleman approached us several times, gesturing with his hands and repeating some Chinese phrases. We assumed he was blessing us or wishing us luck, etc. (If not we’d just as soon not know.) In this case, one of us was trying to take a picture of the statue and he inserted himself in front of the camera.
One of our group who shall remain nameless (You know who you are, Bill) accidentally tripped and knocked over a motorbike at the entrance to the temple, so we purchased and burnt some incense in atonement.
You don’t see a lot of graffiti on walls in China like you do in the states, but check out this clump of bamboo growing in Bayi Park!
Friday night we took a field trip to see two spectacular local attractions. The world’s highest Ferris wheel and the largest “dancing water” production in Asia.
The Ferris wheel, known as the “Star of Nanchang” is 525 feet high and has been operating since May of 2006.
There are 60 enclosed passenger cars that can hold up to eight people. A trip around takes about 30 minutes.
On Friday, a bunch decided it was time for some good old American food. Fortunately there is a Pizza Hut just down the road. And for a small fee the hotel staff will even pick it up and deliver it to the room. There is also a Wal-Mart and a KFC (actually three KFC’s including one inside the Wal-Mart!)
Although the rooms are pretty large by China standards, everybody ended up parking on the floor in the hallway to eat.
After lunch, the kids decided a pillow fight was in order.
Although Ryan may not have started it, he was on the receiving end of the final salvo!
