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We learned the other day that we will be staying at the Gloria Plaza Hotel in Nanchang rather than the Galactic Peace Hotel. The Gloria Plaza Hotel is a five star hotel built in 1998. It has a great location on the Ganjiang River and quite near to the Tengwang Pavilion and Bayi Bridge. Most importantly it has an indoor swimming pool.
It has three restaurants including a Cantonese seafood restaurant. It is also within walking distance to a fish market and pedestrian shopping areas. Based on reviews, across the street there is a place for great foot massages and Tiffany’s is the place to have laundry done. The hotel laundry evidently is expensive. The hotel provides a stroller and baby bath tub.
The Galactic Peace Hotel is a five star hotel located in the southern part of the city.
It has both a western and Chinese restaurant and offers a breakfast buffet. It is in a commercial part of the city near some shopping malls. Evidently there is a Walmart in walking distance. The hotel has a nice 25m indoor pool.
The rooms have free internet so I should be able to post on the blog while there. It looks like a really really nice hotel.
Based on average daily weather data for Beijing, Nanchang and Guangzhou, we can get an idea of the high and low temperatures that we can expect for our trip and thus pack appropriately.
For Beijing, from Nov 19th to the 23rd, the average high is 47°F and the average low is 30°F. This will be similar to early Nov weather for Minneapolis. A jacket and a sweat shirt will be just about right for the evenings.
For Nanchang, from Nov 23rd to the 29th, the average high is 60°F and the average low is 47°F. This is about the weather that we are currently experiencing in Minneapolis or maybe more early October so short sleeves in the day and jacket in the evening perhaps.
For Guangzhou, from Nov 29th to the Dec 4th, the average high is 72°F and the average low is 57°F. This is early September weather in Minneapolis so I might even bring a pair of shorts along.
Of course when we return to Minneapolis on Dec 4, the average high is 30°F and the average low is 16°F.
This past May we took a family trip to the National Parks in Utah. We flew into and out of Las Vegas. During the one day we had in Vegas, we went over to the Bellagio to view the fountains. As luck would have it, that day the winds were too high for the fountains to run. I think it was supposed to look something like this:
Evidently Nanchang also has nice fountains with a show in the manner of the Bellagio. Of course, in Nov or Dec, it may not be running.
Here’s a video of it that I found on Youtube:
Karen submitted the signed papers to CHSFS today accepting the referral. We now sit back and wait for the next step. An appointment will be made for us at the US Consulate in Guangzhou and then we learn where and when we will need to be to receive Xia Mei. This will probably take place in Nanchang. We will have quite the entourage since my older sister, Grace; Karen’s sister-in-law, Laurel; and niece, Abby, will also be going with the three of us. We plan to fly into China a few days early to visit Beijing and sightsee. It’s possible that we may be traveling to Nanchang with another family.
When we got Natalie, we were in a very large group. Quite a few of us met up before we went to China and then we met up again in Beijing. We became a pretty tight group. After sightseeing in Beijing, half the group went to Wuhan and most of the remaining half went to Guangzhou to receive children. We all later met up in Guangzhou for our consulate appointments. Since returning from China, our group meets once a year during the summer for a reunion. It’s been great forming this extended family.
One of the famous sites in Nanchang is the Pavilion of Prince Teng. It is one of the three Great Towers of Jiangnan.
It was first built in 653 AD. It has been destroyed and rebuilt many times over the centuries with its latest incarnation completed in 1989.
The Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan is another of the Great Towers. When we received Hua Mei in Wuhan, we visited the Yellow Crane Tower.
Interestingly, the corner towers of the Forbidden City were built to imitate the Yellow Crane Tower and the Pavilion of Prince Teng.
The third Great Tower is the Yueyang Tower in Hunan.
We don’t plan to adopt another child from China. We’ll just go visit it someday.
It is likely that we will be travelling to Nanchang to receive Xia Mei. Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi Province.
It was founded in 201 BC and is famous for its scenic lakes, mountains, rich history and cultural sites. If our experience is anything like Wuhan, we probably won’t have much time to see the sights. The weather in Nanchang has highs in the 50º to 60ºF range in Nov and Dec. That will be quite a change from the hot humid August we enjoyed in Wuhan.
Among the sights is the Star of Nanchang, which stands at 525 feet and was the world’s largest Ferris wheel until Feb 11, 2008. It takes about half an hour for a single rotation. We’ll definitely try to take Hua Mei on that.
Here’s a China Tours video I found on YouTube that gives some background on Nanchang.
