Day 11

Sunday November 15th today is the blessing. We all got breakfast and were to be at the bus outside the lobby at 10:00. We went to the temple and along the way Martin was showing us sites and telling all about them. Martin is so funny. He would point out things and tell a story about it. Then when he wasn't showing us something he would talk about his family or his life experiences. We finally made it to the temple and it was beautiful and very old. Martin told us the story about the temple. The name of the temple is Six Banyan Tree Temple. Grace or Sara were wanting to carry Shelby or push her stroller. We walked around and took pictures. Martin told everyone to try to throw some change into this statue of the temple. Aunt Gigi took a few times to do it. One of the mother's kept missing and hitting people in the head on the other side of the statue. People were coming to say their prayers to the idol. They picked up a bundle of incense sticks and lit them to say the prayers to the idol. I watched them and they would bow constantly placing an incense stick down when finished with one prayer. Some of the families did it. Angela and I did not partake in this and we did not have to. Then we went into the temple. They were doing a blessing on a couple and I watched what they were doing. They kneeled and bowed 3 times and then kept there head down throughout the ceremony. Then the buddist priest waved a bundle of incense sticks over their heads. Then they bowed again 3 times and left. Then the families were asked to come a do the same. It was really interesting and the temple was beautiful. Here is the history lesson for today.

Having a long history of about 1,400 years, the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees is one of the four best Buddhist temples in Guangzhou and located on the Liurong Road (meaning the Six Banyan Trees Road). It has a rich collection of cultural-relics and is renowned both at home and abroad.
Originally built in 537, the temple has been rebuilt several times, and the name has also been changed several times from Changshou Temple (meaning Longevity Temple) to Jinghui Temple and finally the current name. It is a name given by the great litterateur Su Dongpo in the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279). It is said that he visited the temple while returning to the north. During the visit, he found six banyan trees there particularly striking. The vitality of the trees put him in a good mood and cheered him up. When the abbot of the temple invited him to suggest a name, Su Dongpo wrote down its present name. Finally, the temple changed its former name (Jinghui Temple) to the name Temple of the Six Banyan Trees. A pagoda in the temple is known variously as Six Banyan Pagoda or Flowery Pagoda.
After entering by the mountain gate, the Tianwang Hall is the first hall you will see. The Laughing Buddha is there with smile all over his face to welcome visitors. Behind it is the Weituo Hall. According to legend, Weituo was a general who recaptured the Buddhist relics which had been stolen. He keeps a straight face, looking very serious and frightful, in distinct contrast with the Laughing Buddha.
The architecture that catches the visitors' eyes most is the Six Banyan Pagoda. It is a pagoda where Buddhist relics are placed. Its roofs curve upwards and look like dark red flower petals. The tip of the pagoda is like stamens, while the whole construction looks like a huge stigma high in the air. Therefore, people like to call it the Flowery Pagoda. The pagoda not only has a nice appearance, but also provides visitors a good place to overlook enchanting scenery around.
To the west of the Six Banyan Pagoda is Daxiong Baodian Hall - the main hall of the temple. The three biggest copper Buddhist statues placed there are among the biggest and most ancient Buddhist statues in Guangdong. The middle one is Sakyamuni, to the left, the Amitabha and to the right, the Apothecary Buddha. They stand for present, past and future.
Burning joss sticks is a big event when visiting the temple. Thus every year on the Chinese traditional Spring Festival and Lantern Festival, the temple becomes a busy area. Numerous people queue to burn the first joss stick in order to be blessed by gods in the coming year.

When the blessing was over we were just walking around looking at the buildings and gardens around. When a buddist nun came up and started talking to me about Shelby and more people came to say hello and to see her. I couldn't understand them so I smiled and here comes Martin and Grace. They saw that I was surrounded by all of these Chinese people. At the same time the Dang Family came over and we started talking while Martin and Grace were talking with the chinese people about Shelby. I was showing pictures of Shelby's family to the Dang family because we were talking about Glen and he said that he wished that he saw a picture of Glen. So showed him and he said he looks just like the picture he had of him in his mind. The father is to funny. Then they left and Martin and Grace stayed with me. Martin told me that the nun and the other people said that she is beautiful. He said the nun had asked this one question. How did you get baby? He told her adopted. Then she asked how much pay for her? He told her free. We payed the government fees and other fees. But we did not buy our baby. They then continued the conversation else where and Grace stayed with me. Once we left we then went to the Arts & Crafts store. This place was neat. I bought traditional and folk Chinese music. Inside these glass balls they are hand painted. I had them paint the names on the inside of the balls. Then I bought some hand painting pictures and book markers. This was a beautiful store. Then after we did that we went back to the apartment and had lunch. At 6:00pm they through a pizza party on the 4th floor. When we got there the pizza hadn't arrived yet so they had drinks and some food ready with out the pizza. They had picures pinned up from past groups. Norman and his crew came. Shelby was not feeling well. She has a cold. We brought her back up to go to bed. She slept all night long. Enjoy the pictures.

Day 10

Saturday November 14th this was a free morning due to the fact that we were to be at the airport at 2:30 to fly out of Nanchang to Guangzhou. They were collecting our luggage that morning and Angela and I had everything ready to go the night before. We went to breakfast and I told Angela that I had to do something with Sara. Sara, Robert, Adam and I went back to the porclein market. Angela had said the night before that she wished she had really gotten a piece of porclein for herself. The one that she is reffering to is the hundred children. It means that you are rich or will be rich. So that is what we went back for. She won't know until the day that we are to leave. Then Sara will bring it to me and I will give it to her. I couldn't have done this with out her. She has been there for me during this time. We have shared the responsiblilty of caring for Shelby and taking care of anything else.
Well we left the airport and it will take one hour to get to Guangzhou. Shelby did great she her ears didn't bother her and neither the other babies. She was hungry tho. So as soon as we got back to the Ascott and we got our same apartment back. We got her something to eat. She has had a cold since last night. We are going to get some cold medicine for her. She is so precious.
See you tomorrow.

Day 8

Thrusday November 12th it was rainy and cold. It has been cold all week. Last week in Guangzhou the weather was nice and comfortable. Anyway, back to my story. We were suppose to go to a park either People's Park or Elephant Park. But since it was raining we went to a Chinese palace. The nane of the palace is Tengwang Pavillon. While we were there people were supposed to be visiting the musem. But Shelby was the center of attention. She thought that she was the queen of the palace since she was getting so much attention. I thought it was really nice that people wanted to oo and ahah over her but it made me feel bad for the other families. I wanted them to come and bring their babies over to where the crowd of people were to see their babies. I guess I shouldn't feel bad but I am one for not attracting attention. People were taking pictures of her and me and wanting there picture with her. They were saying so many things about her and I couldn't understand them. Luckly enough Sara was there and translating for me. They were telling us how beautiful she was and that she is quiet and sweet and doesn't mind people around her. The one good thing that came out of this I got to experience the friendlyness of the Chinese people. I was comparing the Chinese people with the some of the American people and we don't even come close to the Chinese. No matter where we were she has attracted people and the people were giving me a thumbs up and some that spoke a little english told us that they were happy for us. I just wondered about this if they would get upset that their babies are leaving the country due to adoption. No they are excited about it. We talked with some Americans that were just visiting and they saw the attention and said if this was America that the people in the States would not go for this and be this friendly. Which I only agreed to some of it. If we chose to not adopt domesticly then international families should be given a choice. I know for our reasons one of them is that some kids have emotional problems due to the system and the process can be much longer and on top of that if the paperwork is not done correctly you could take a chance on losing that child. It is said when you can't trust our system. Now for another history lesson.
Tengwang Pavilion is located on the shore of the Kan, in Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province. Together with Yellow Crane Tower, Yueyang Pavilion (Yueyang Lou) , this fine building is one of the three most notable pavilions on south side of the Yangtze River. It also has the reputation of being the 'First Pavilion of Xijiang River' and has been widely admired by visitors from all over the world. In terms of its height, overall size and architectural style, this pavilion is a prime example of such buildings for which China is justifiably famous.
Li Yuanying, a brother of Taizong who assumed the name Tengwang upon being knighted, commissioned the original three storied, thirty meters high building in the year 654 during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The pavilion was named after him but it was to undergo reconstruction as a consequence of events during its 1,300 year long history. Wang Bo, a gifted and well known poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote his 'Essay on Tengwang Pavilion' thus documenting its importance. However, probably the worst tragedy occurred in 1926, when it was destroyed by fire during the conflicts between the Northern Warlords. The current building is the result of rebuilding that was carried out between 1983 and 1989.
The existing pavilion is even more spectacular and magnificent than its predecessors. Reached by a Nine-zigzag bridge and surrounded by rock gardens and lakes, it is built in the architectural style of the Song Dynasty (960-1279). It is in fact a complex and not just a single structure. The principle building, covering 47,000 square meters (about 12 acres), is nine storied and 57.5 meters (about 189 feet) in height. Two smaller pavilions stand on the north and south sides of the main building. Their elegance and simplicity is set off by glazed jade-green tiles on the roof, pretty eaves and red pillars. Engraved screens enhance the interiors.
Tengwang Pavilion was always a place where learned men gathered to write articles and hold banquets, therefore the display in the new pavilion gives prominence to culture. A variety of bass-relief and frescoes demonstrate that men of talent have brought glory to this place. The plagues, steles, couplets on the columns of the hall are all selections of celebrities. Musical instruments, bronze sacrifice, ritual article, serial bells impart a classical elegance to this new pavilion.

Enjoy the pictures.

Day 7

Wednesday November 11th. Today we went to the Badansharen Museum. It is 1700 years old and is also called the Taoism Temple. Ok, I am going to give you a history lesson and pictures.

Badasharen Museum - It lies on the Mei Lake. During the Ming and early Qing dynasties the outstanding painting master Zhuda (who is also known as Badasheran. Who also lived there. In order to commerate these songs he will be singing. That was interesting. It was really nice paints. Sissy our USAA guide gave us a history lessen everyday and she taught us how to sing songs in Chinese. For example Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Try this song at home. Here are the words in Chinese.

Yi Shan Yi Shan Liang Jing Jing,
Man Tian Dou Shi Xiao Xing Xing,
Gua Zhai Tian Kong Fang Guang Ming,
Hao Xian Xu Duo Xiao Yan Jing.
Yi Shan Yi Shan Liang Jing Jing,
Man Tian Dou Shi Xiao Xing Xing,

After the the museum we went to lunch. She took us to this resturant that had live seafood aquariums. There was this one tank that had the most beautiful red fish in it. The resturant was beautiful they used alot of wood in this place. I cannot say enough about Sissy and Sara they have taken care of any needs and just love the children as if they were the parents. They also took great care of the parents. Enjoy the pictures.

Day 6

Tuesday November 10th we had to go to the civil affairs office to have the adoption registrtion and notary interview. That was interesting. Shelby and I had to go have our picture taken together and then we sat and waited for our interviews. When it was my turn I was nervous. I wish that I had Glen there to answer the questions but I had to go alone with Shelby. They would not let my Aunt come with me. Then once that was done. They gave you a gift and we packed up and left for our next point of destination. Which was to finalize the paperwork on the China side. What I found interesting was that China when it comes to mistakes on paperwork. They are not very picky about it as long as it is not a major mistake. If it is a coma, mispelled word or anything like that they will ask you to have it changed if it is miss spelled but will still move the paperwork along to finish it. Sara also told us about the U.S. Government side. Our government is very picky. They look for mistakes to keep you here in China even if is a coma out of place. They look at every detail. Once we finished that we went to Walmart to get supplies for the babies and other things that you my need. This was interesting. Walmart in China has 3 floors. Most of us got a stroller. That has been a life saver.Once everyone was done we headed for the bus to take us back to the hotel. Several people wanted to get off at the Grandview Mall. Unless you really like to shop, my suggestion is that you not go there. This is because it is huge 7 story mall with hallways that take you from one mall to another mall. The 7th floor is an amusement park and when I say amusement park it is. The other thing is that the map of the mall is in Chinese no English at all on it. So to find something on it, forget it. You will have to walk all around it to find what that store. They have no food court. The resturants are on all floors spread out the mall.
The rest of us went back to the hotel. We then had a group dinner at the hotel. So far I have not had anything that I did not like. The Jiangxi Province food is the spicy province, The food is very good and very spicy.
Outside our window is a buddist temple it is called built back in the 1600 or the 1700. I am not sure because I don't have the book in front of me that tells me about it. While Shelby was taking a nap we saw what we called a parade and firecrackers going off. We found out later that it was a funeral and it last for 7 days. That was different. Then we kept hearing singing (kind of like a prayer and was done over a loud speaker). This went on and on since we have been here. Enjoy the pictures