We've been to China twice, both trips related to adopting our second daughter. Our trip in 1995 was a high-speed, non-stop, 10 day whirlwind without a moment's rest. We were exhausted by day 4 and completely fried by the time we got home, but it was a good trip nontheless.

Our return in 2006 was a wonderful, 16 or 17 day trip (depending on how you handle the International Date Line) run by OCDF China Tours. They specialize in tours for adoptive families and do a tremendous job of running kid-oriented tours. Highly recommended even if you don't have a child adopted from China. They are such well run tours, that you would do well to consider them for a strictly tourist oriented trip.

We did see a couple of tourist things on our first trip, tucked into a spare hour or two along the way. We walked through the Qing Pin market in Guangzhou on our way into China, including the live animal market that, we were told in 06, isn't there anymore. It was fascinating and unsettling. We saw animals for sale as food that Americans would never think of eating. Of course there were turtles, rabbits, birds of many types and even eels, which the English commonly eat. But there were also snakes, beavers, cats, baby deer, etc. The women were especially bothered by the fawns in a cage along the way. I didn't see any dogs in the live animal market, but many in the dressed, ready to cook market.

In Nanchang, after our adoption was complete and Anna was with us, we did a short afternoon at the Teng Wang Pavilion bargaining in the shops and touring the pavilion itself. It has an interesting history and was an enjoyable rest.

In contrast, our second trip was almost all touring. We saw some of the great attractions of China, The Great Wall outside Beijing, the Terra Cotta Warriors in Xian, the panda research center in Chungdu and some less well known sites like the bronze museum north of Chengdu.

An important part of the trip was visiting the orphanage where Anna was cared for before the adoption. The building she was in no longer exists and the new place is very nice. We were allowed to tour the main building and see the children.

Other Stuff
Folbot kayaks - the Horn - Books - Music - Leatherman - Computers - Hopi silver work - Camping
Daisy BB guns - Heathkits - China - Vacation Evaluations - Rants - Wreck - Airbus A380 at O'Hare

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