Sightseeing Day

Guangzhou is the third largest city in China and it certainly has a different "vibe" than Beijing, the largest. Beijing is the type-A business major son, while Guangzhou feels like the laid-back, artistic son (with the spiked hair, piercings and tattoos). This atmosphere fits well with our moods by the time we arrive here on an adoption trip, and this time, the subtropical climate is particularly welcome after our visit to frigid Harbin.

We are staying at the Garden Hotel in what appears to be a financial area of the city (lots of bank buildings around).




It's a far fancier place than we would ever book ourselves into back in the States, but adoption groups must get a good deal because the room costs about the equivalent of a good ol' Hampton Inn.




(But it doesn't look like a Hampton Inn, outside or in :-)

There's a busy road out front and a busy shopping plaza/financial center across the street.




It's an exciting area of the city to be in, but all the shops seem to cater to the type of clientele that would be staying in such a fancy hotel. (We are having LOTS of trouble finding Victoria clothes that we can afford. We refuse to spend $90 on a pair of wind pants when we know we can get 4 pair of pants for the same price when we get home.)

Of course this IS China, so there are lots of weird juxtapositions (my $100 word for the day :-). We are in an obviously better-off part of the city, and yet we've seen more horribly disfigured men begging on the streets here than anywhere else we've been in China. The buildings that face out on the streets are beautiful glass skyscrapers and yet, if you look down some of the side streets you see the buildings where some of the people actually live....




and you realize that some folks in China are doing a lot better than others.

But enough geography/sociology/economics for now :-)

Today (Sunday) was a sightseeing day. Our first stop was at the Sun Yat-Sen memorial hall. Sun Yat-Sen was described by one of our guides as the George Washington of China. He was a physician who tried to unite his country under a democratic rule after the fall of the last emperor in the early 1900's. Ultimately, he was unsuccessful, but he is still considered the "father of his country".




The next stop was at Yuexiu park. Not only is this the time when the Lunar New Year is celebrated here in China, but it is also the time of the Lantern Festival.




The park is decorated with many different lanterns in honor of the celebration, and because it is the "year of the dragon", many of the langers depicted dragons of one kind or another.




(This one was created entirely from plates, saucers and tea cups of various sizes.)

As we walked thru the park, we came upon a section with a few amusement park rides. Most were or no interest to the kids, but the water flume ride could not be passed up untested.




(You'll notice who got to ride in the front, and what her reaction was :-) It was just a little thing, but it was another indication that the sisters are all bonding pretty well at this point.




After we got back to the hotel from the park, we walked with one of the other adopting families in our group to a nearby KFC for lunch. A little later in the afternoon we met with out guides to get all our papers ready to be taken to the Consulate on Tuesday.

Tori seems to leaving her sadness behind (at least for now). She smiles and laughs and runs with her sisters like she's been here for years. (We borrowed a wheelchair from the hotel for our outing today because the guides said there would be a lot of walking involved. Tori said she would use it if she needed it, but the only ones who used it at all were the other kids, who were pushing each other around the park in it.)

We know we have a lot of work ahead of us when we get back to Springfield, but at least for now things are going very well. Once again, our family has been blessed by a beautiful, special daughter.


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