September 2, 2012: Day #7 with Cai Yun, Guangzhou, China

Our seventh day with Cai Yun, our first full day in Guangzhou, was on a Sunday.  Our group had the option of spending the morning visiting three sites.  The first stop was the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees, a Buddhist temple originally built in 537 but rebuilt several times since (originally the Changshou Temple, meaning Longevity Temple, the name has also been changed several times). 

The laughing Buddha greets visitors as the enter the complex

Offerings to the different gods include bottles of water and fruit

Our guide, Grace, tried  in vain to tell our group the temple's history with her portable microphone - everyone just scattered!

Also rebuilt several times, what is now called the Six Banyan Pagoda stands tall on the temple grounds and holds relics.  Like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, this structure is starting to lean, so visitors are no longer allowed to climb it.

Many incense sticks are burnt around the temple

Beautiful clay tile roofs

Characters were carved into the stones outside the halls

  

In the main hall of the temple, rest three Buddhist statues that symbolize the present, past and future.  They are the biggest and among the most ancient of their kind in the Guangdong province. 

Several members in our travel group had their newly adopted children blessed by the Buddhist monk

Another monk sits peacefully by the tree

Cai Yun enjoyed watching the colorful fish in a small pond

Back on the bus for stop #2!

We then visited the Ancestral Temple of the Chen Family, which is famous for its exquisite craftsmanship and was originally built during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

The colorful, intricate carvings on the roof caught our eye as we walked toward this complex of multiple buildings, halls and courtyards

Detailed scenes depicted life in old Guangzhou in the blue etched glass

Historical rooms were set up with traditional Cantonese furniture including this bed with the porcelain block pillows - I'll stick with my down version thank you!

Different artisans were working at different points along the Chen Family complex.  Cai Yun was very captivated by this older gentleman working on a large paper cut art piece.  When they got to talking, he in turn, was charmed by Cai Yun.  We were happy to purchase several beautiful pieces by him.

At our third stop of the morning, we went to an arts and crafts store that our guides insisted had the best quality merchandise at good prices.  Tired from the morning's stops, Cai Yun spent the most time watching the artisans, especially the ink painter who used his fingers to create the detailed landscapes...

...and the chop (seal) carver.

Back at the hotel we were finally able to relax a bit in our room

and in the lovely rooftop pool that had an awesome view of the cityscape around our hotel.

As with the previous days, Cai Yun came alive at night.  That evening we enjoyed some great Chinese cuisine at the Food Street restaurant in the hotel.

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Into food and cooking like her parents, Cai Yun did her best to capture the cooks on camera

and the wait staff!



After dinner ended with fun on the play equipment placed in a peaceful courtyard of the hotel.  We were glad to see Cai Yun finally able to enjoy being a kid!

September 1, 2012: Day #6 with Cai Yun, Goin' to Guangzhou, China

The sixth day with Cai Yun, we spent doing final packing to leave Zhengzhou and then traveling to a new province, Guangdong, and city in southern China, Guangzhou (historically known as Canton).

After breakfast, we met our group in the lobby of our hotel and then boarded our bus for the airport.

As we waited for our luggage to be loaded onto the bus, Cai Yun, curious about what this flying was all about, asked one of our guides about the plane we would be flying in.  She wondered how big the plane was and if it could fit in the fountain area in the front of our hotel.  We wondered if Cai Yun would feel anxious about leaving the province where she possibly spent her entire life up until now, but she seemed excited and up to an adventure...

...and of course, Cai Yun is always up to funny faces and silliness with daddy!

Upon our group's arrival at the airport, we were escorted by our guides right up to a counter to check in and have our luggage weighed.  Our group was given a weight limit that was split between all the members of our group.  For this leg of the trip, we were one big suitcase full lighter since we had been able to hand off our donations for the Lily Orphan Care Center and gifts to the orphanage.

 
Cai Yun took in all the activity and hustling people at the airport and increasingly seemed a little more quiet and reserved - something common for her when she was in a new situation.

Involving Cai Yun in the process at hand always seemed to help pull her back out.  We asked for her help in getting all of our passports and boarding passes in order for security.




Before we went through security at each airport, we had to say good-bye to our faithful guides for that leg of the trip.  Our Henan province guide, Rita, had been so very helpful to us in explaining to Cai Yun in Mandarin what was going on each step of the way and telling us all of the funny things Cai Yun was saying in Mandarin as she talked 100 miles a minute!  For example, when we boarded the bus earlier in the day for the airport, Cai Yun asked Rita where "Steamed Bun" was (when she was deliriously talking about food and saying everything looked like noodles on our return trip from our Zhumadian City orphanage visit, Cai Yun first said our stout van driver looked like a fat noodle, but then decided he looked more like the round doughy buns that are common in Chinese cuisine).



Cai Yun's excitement returned as we were boarding the plane for Guangzhou - she was ready for her very first plane ride!


After such a big week - being united with Cai Yun, getting used to each other and jumping through more adoption requirement hoops, we were ready to move onto the second half of our trip - this time as a family of THREE!

Once in our seats, Cai Yun checked out the trays, arm rests, the pocket in front of her, the window shades and every button her little fingers could reach. She was very pleased to learn that she even would be served a drink and lunch!



Cai Yun asked to sit by the window, where she spent much of our flight peering out at the fluffy clouds (she commented on how the "Yun" in her name means "cloud") and the topography below.

 

Then it was time for a nap

 

After our flight of just over two hours, we were greeted at the Guangzhou airport by our new guides, Kathy and Grace.  Once we had all of our luggage, our group boarded a new bus and headed for our hotel.  Guangzhou was noticeably more tropical with the palm trees and flowers and even more heat and humidity!

I loved the red lanterns that were scattered all over China and these pretty ones were aligned under the hotel's entrance awning

The China Hotel lobby with a spectacular glass sculptural piece around the ceiling

This was our room for our week at the China Hotel by Marriott.  Cai Yun was most impressed by the electronic shade on the large window that was in the bathtub/shower that went down every time the light in the bathroom was turned on

After a long day of last minute packing, schlepping around our suitcases, airport transfers, our flight and settling into a new hotel, we decided to take it easy and eat at the McDonald's right next door.  We were amused by this scene, a young woman cozies up to Ronald McDonald while texting and taking a smoking break  When she saw Max trying to capture her photo she got up in disgust and walked away.  Oops!