Our China Adoption Trip

 

This is the general schedule supplied by our adoption agency, CCAI, for our adoption trip to China.  Once in China, we will join seven other CCAI families and share this same itinerary in completing the final steps of our adoption journeys. 

 *** Projected Plan for Group 1896 ***

8/22     Wednesday:  Leave U.S. for Beijing

[on United flight UA3751 at 6:05 a.m. from Raleigh/Durham, NC (RDU) with layover at Dulles Airport.     

8/23     Thursday:  Arrive in Beijing [2:20 pm - Total Travel Time = 20 hr 15 mn]

When you arrive, get your baggage, go through Customs and Immigration and exit this part of the airport. 
Go to the hotel. Free time. Enjoy!

8/24     Friday:  Tour Beijing:
Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Hutong Tour, and optional acrobatics show

           

8/25     Saturday:  Tour Beijing:  Great Wall

8/26     Sunday:  Depart Beijing for Zhengzhou on China Southern flight CZ 3116 (10:20-11:50 am).

8/27     Monday:  Today you will receive your child!  Congratulations! Please make sure to take plenty of pictures as these photos are a requirement for the one month post-adoption report!

Child from Zhumadian - The Orphanage Officer Ms. Zhu & Ms. Yu will deliver your child to you

This afternoon, all families will sign the Guardianship Agreement.

Take Registration Certificate photos at local photo shop.

Return to the hotel.

8/28     Tuesday:  All families take a bus to the registration office to complete the Adoption Registration in the morning. 

Please note that your adoption is finalized at the time of registration.  After this point, the Chinese government prohibits you from relinquishing your child in China.

Around 1:00PM you will travel to city where your child is from to apply for your child’s passport in person at the public security bureau.*

*Go to the local city where your child is from to apply for his/her passport with the local Public Security Office.  You will go there by taxi/train/bus, accompanied by an English-speaking guide.  Traveling to the local city can be an inconvenience and challenging due to the traffic congestion, over- crowdedness, long ride, and caring for your newly adopted child.  So be prepared for a possibly very exhausting day of travel and paperwork.  You will return to Zhengzhou on the same day as no local overnight stay is necessary.  The great news is that you will be able to see a little of the city where your child originates from.

[Zhumadian is the city where we will be headed and is about a 2.5 hour drive one way.  We will be supplied a driver and an English speaking guide for this passport application trip.  We were so hoping that we could combine this with a visit to the orphanage to save our energy, time, and money from making two trips, but were told it is logistically not going to work.

 [We hope to have a chance to return to Zhumadian this day and visit Cai Yun’s orphanage, but this is dependent on many factors including permission from the orphanage]

8/29     Wednesday:  Rest or optional group shopping trip to the Lotus Center in the afternoon.

8/30     Thursday:  Receive your notary documents in the afternoon.
8/31        Friday:  Families in the group will receive some child passports. Those not received will be mailed
            to Guangzhou.

9/1       Saturday:  Leave Zhengzhou for Guangzhou on China Southern Flight CZ 3393 (12:50-3:05 pm)

9/2       Sunday:  Free day in Guangzhou

9/3       Monday:  Take bus to clinic to complete your child’s visa physical and visa photo taken this morning. Your child will also receive a tuberculosis skin test if they are between the ages of 2 to 14. Be ready to go!

9/4       Tuesday:  Meet with CCAI representatives to prepare paperwork for the Consulate appointment: Please bring all of your documents and passports to this meeting. Your CCAI rep will have the required forms for you to fill out

9/5       Wednesday:  If your child is over two you will meet with your CCAI representative to have the Tuberculosis test checked at the clinic. If necessary have the chest x-ray taken.  You will travel by bus or taxi to clinic to complete this test.

9/6       Thursday:  Today is your Consulate appointment. 

Your CCAI representative will deliver your visa packets to the U.S. Consulate Adoption Unit in the morning.  In the afternoon you will go to the U.S. Consulate to take the oath. 

9/7       Friday:  A CCAI representative will go to the U.S. Consulate to receive your child’s visa packet

Prepare to leave for home.

           

             Depart Guangzhou for Hong Kong via train [a two hour train trip] and check into hotel.

9/8       Saturday:   Departure flight for the US. 

[United Flight: UA896 at 11:10 a.m. from Hong Kong (HKG) with a long layover at Chicago’s O'Hare Airport (we purposely selected this flight so Cai Yun can meet Olivia, her new cousin from Chicago, that is just one month apart from her in age and so anxiously readying to welcome her into her new life in the US! 
When we touch down at 12:35 p.m. in Chicago, Cai Yun will automatically become a US citizen!!

10:36 p.m. on Saturday, September 8^th, arrive at Raleigh-Durham airport
Total Travel Time = 23 hr 26 mn]

WELCOME HOME CAI YUN!