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2008
We got our visas from the Chinese consulate. They are valid for an entire year and allow for a stay of up to 90 days. Not sure if we’ll be going back again within a year but it’s nice to have that option. We got Hua Mei’s Chinese passport back but it’s been cancelled by the Chinese Consulate. We now have all our paperwork for the trip taken care of. It’s time to start packing. We only have two and a half weeks before we travel to China.
The last information we got about Xia Mei was when she was only a few months old. We now have information about how much she has grown since then. She is now 72 cm (about 28.5″) in height and weighs 8.5 kg (18.7 lbs). Her foot length is 11.5 cm (4.5″) and her head circumference is 44 cm (17-3/8″). Her chest size is 45 cm (17-3/4″) around. She is about 11 months old. Her weight is in the 25th percentile for her age and 50th percentile for her height. Her head circumference is also 25th percentile. She’s a little heavier than what Hua Mei was at that age. Fortunately Hua Mei now has about 14 lbs and 20″ on her. Now that we have the data on Xia Mei’s current size, we can feel a bit more confident in buying clothes for her.
I’ve created a mashup describing the trip that we took to China in 2005 to receive Hua Mei. We travelled to Beijing, Wuhan and Guangzhou. We were in China for 17 days, from Aug 24 to Sep 9, 2005. With all the attention that we’ve paid to the trip to Nanchang, I figured that it was time to give Hua Mei some equal time.
You can visit the webpage at here. The mashup has an interactive map I created with the Google maps API. There are also slideshows with photos from my flickr account. I also have an RSS feed of this blog. When we travel to China next month I hope to maintain this blog and post photos on the mashup I’ll create for Xia Mei.
Also known as the Liurong Temple, the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees was originally built in 537. The pagoda in the temple is known as the Six Banyan Pagoda or the Flowery Pagoda. Buddhist relics are placed in the pagoda.
In the main hall of the temple are three large copper Buddhist statues. They are the biggest and most ancient Buddhist statues in Guangdong. The middle statue is of Sakyamuni Buddha, on the left is Amitabha, and on the right is the Apothecary Buddha. A row of pillows are set in front of the statues so that worshippers can bow to the statues.
Joss sticks are sold in the courtyard of the temple and visitors can burn them before the idols or shrines as offerings.
Many families participating in the international adoption of children from China visit this temple where they receive blessings for their newly adopted children in front of the statue of Guan Yin, the bodhisattva of compassion. During the ceremony a monk chants and then sprinkles water on the babies.
We had a really nice visit there.
A site to visit in Guangzhou is the Chen Clan Academy. It was established in 1894 in Qing Dynasty by the 72 Chen clans in Guangdong as a place for their clan members to study and prepare for provincial examinations. We visited it during our visit in 2005.
It is known for its architecture, courtyards and carvings.
In 1959, the academy was designated as the Guangdong Museum of Folk Art in 1959 and contains collections of paintings, embroideries, sculpture, calligraphy, and other folk art.
There was one artist there who used his fingers and the side of his hand to create paintings of Chinese scenery. He was amazing and we purchased a couple of his works.
There are two places to visit the Great Wall when visiting Beijing. Northwest of the city, Badaling is the most popular place to go. It is fairly crowded. We visited there on our last trip. This visit to Beijing we plan to go to Mutianyu, located in Huairou County about 45 miles northeast of Beijing. It is not as busy with visitors as Badaling.
The Mutianyu section of the great Wall was used as a northern barrier to protect the capital and the imperial tombs. It was originally built in the Northern Gi Dynasty (550 – 557) and then was rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644). It is in a strategic pass in a mountainous region and so is very steep. It is built mainly of granite and very well-preserved. The area is surrounded by forests and streams and perhaps we’ll be visiting at a time when the leaves are still changing color. This area of the wall is known for its scenic views.
There is a fairly long and arduous hike to the wall. Fortunately there is a cable car to take visitors up to the wall. With two young children (and maybe an out of shape adult or two) I expect we’ll make use of the cable cars.
Here’s an AP story about the Great Wall that was shot at Mutianyu.
There’s also a toboggan ride at Mutianyu.
It looks like a lot of fun but I suspect it will be closed at the end of November. Actually in 30°F temperatures, even if it is open, maybe it won’t be that much fun.
Hua Mei had a fun 4th birthday today. It actually started yesterday. Karen and Hua Mei had lunch with Karen’s folks and Heidi, Hua Mei’s nanny. Heidi gave Hua Mei a kids digital camera and some great read along books for the plane ride to China. Then last night we had a 3-way video chat with my sister Emily and her daughter Becca in Philly and Grace in Edina. They sang “Happy Birthday” to Hua Mei and then Hua Mei opened her present from Emily. We also had a video chat with Laurel and Abby and Hua Mei thanked them for the present they sent from Colorado.
Today, after Chinese class this morning we had lunch with Grace, my Dad, and our friends and neighbors, Lisa and Neil and their daughters Jessica and Nata. We went to Jun Bo where we had dim sum and pan fried noodles. Of course we had to eat noodles for Hua Mei’s birthday.
We then all went over to our house to open presents and have birthday cake. Hua Mei got a scooter which she tried out immediately.
All these festivities tired her out and she took a long nap as Karen and I took a walk by the creek on a beautiful fall afternoon in Minneapolis. This is only birthday celebration part one. Next week Hua Mei celebrates her birthday with Karen’s side of the family.
btw today is also the birthday of Pablo Picasso, Johann Strauss Jr. and Georges Bizet.
Tomorrow is Hua Mei’s birthday. She will be four years old. Time flies by so fast.
1st birthday:
2nd birthday:
3rd birthday:
Hua Mei was born in Wuxue City which is in the eastern part of Hubei Province on the north shore of the Yangtze River. She was found on Oct 26, 2004, the day after she was born and placed in the Wuxue Social Welfare Institute that same day. During her time as a baby in China she was cared for by a foster family in Wuxue. She was ten months old when we received her in Wuhan. We feel extremely lucky to have her as our daughter.
We’ll be flying to China via Northwest Airlines. We have a non-stop flight from Minneapolis to Narita Airport in Tokyo. From there we transfer to another Northwest flight to Beijing. The flight duration from Minneapolis to Narita is about 12 and a half hours. The flight from Narita to Beijing is about three and a half to four hours. On our return trip we fly from Guangzhou to Tokyo and then fly non-stop from Narita back to Minneapolis. The flight from Guangzhou to Tokyo is about four hours while the return flight to Minneapolis will be about 11 hours. We will be flying trans-Pacific on a 747 both ways.
When we flew to China last time, we flew coach to China and then we used our frequent flyer miles to upgrade to business class on our return flight. That worked very well since there were empty seats in business class. We had seats in the first row and the flight crew set up a bassinet for Hua Mei. We did not have to buy a seat for Hua Mei on the return flight. For this trip, we bought coach tickets but are using frequent flyer miles to upgrade to business class for both legs of the trip. We did have to pay a higher coach fare in order to be able to upgrade but given the length of the flight and brining Hua Mei along, we decided to splurge. Here’s the seating plan for the 747:
The seats in business class each have a TV with video on demand and AC power. I’ll be able to keep my laptop fully charged through the entire flight. I’ve been loading movies on it to keep Hua Mei occupied, hopefully. The seats also recline nearly flat and have a canopy to reduce light and sound.
I also got some noise canceling headphones that will hopefully reduce the noise during the long flight.
Perhaps I’ll actually be able to sleep during the flight, though I rarely can sleep on flights. The most important issue though is whether Hua Mei can sleep on the flight. One can only hope.
