Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Another wonderful day in China. Becca and Angie are sleeping now so it is time for me to write this journal entry. Becca managed to sleep most of the night last night waking up for about a 2 minute cry around 2 AM and then back to a sound sleep. And boy, are we thankful that she is a sound sleeper. I can watch TV, write on the computer, take flash photography of her and even hold her all while she is sleeping. After breakfast at the hotel, we headed out for some sightseeing.

One of the fears Americans have in China is Chinese traffic whether being a pedestrian or as a vehicle passenger. This is a fear shared among many adoptive families. It's one thing if you're just fending for yourself but quite another now that you have a child in tow. Our guides, as wonderful as they are, propagated our fears even more as we had to cross a 4 lane busy street this morning (full of vehicles, bikes and pedestrians) to go to Bao Gong Park. The guides simply jumped out into the street and had us cross. Fortunately cars stopped but it was questionable if they were going to do so. So, you might think that the Chinese driving is as bad as you've read or heard about from other families. But when we came back to the hotel, we simply used the crosswalk (yes, they really do have those in China) and had no problem at all. Just visit New York City or even Tulsa, Oklahoma (I've been told - sorry Oklahomans) and one will realize that this driving concern is not unique to China.

We spent the morning touring Bao Gong Park with the group. This park is directly across the street from our hotel. After visiting the Bao's temple, we split off and 3 families went back to the hotel while the rest of us visited the Pure Wind Pavilion. The Hefei Municipal Tourism Administration did a wonderful job describing these sites so below is straight from the tourism book I purchased at the Park. I believe this information is important to document as it is part of our child's Provincial history.

"Bao Gong Park - Known as Bao Gong (revered Mr. Bao), Bao Zheng, who styled himself Xi Ren, was a famous corruption-free official in the Northern Song Dynasty. He was born in Hefei in 999 AD, and died in 1062 AD. He was rewarded with the posthumous title "Xiao Su" (filial piety and solemnity) by the emperor. Bao Gong Park lies in the southeastern part of the old town of Hefei, occupying an area of 31.8 hectares. 'The landscape along the Baohe River' ranks as one of the 'ten scenic sights in Hefei.' It is a tourist spot for people to go for sightseeing or pay a tribute to Bao Zheng.

Bao Gong Temple - It is located on the Fragrant Flower Mound in Baohe Park. First built in 1066 AD, the temple is the primal model in memory of Bao Zheng both at home and abroad. The existing Bao Gong Temple was reconstructed with the donation from Li Hongzhang, the governor-general of Zhili (now Hebei), in the 8th year (1882 AD) of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty. In 1961, it was proclaimed to be a key cultural relic site under the protection of Anhui Provincial Government.

Pure Wind Pavilion - It is located on the southern bank of the Baohe River. It was constructed in order to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of Bao Zheng's birth, and to develop Bao Zheng's spirit, and to publicize the long-standing history and culture of Anhui. The main body of the building takes on the architectural style of the Song Dynasty. Topping 42 meters, it is comprised of 9 stories, among which 5 stories are visible while the other 4 are hidden inside. Tourists can climb up the pavilion to get a panoramic view of the city and the Baohe River."

Bao Gong is an important figure in Chinese history as he was kind and just in a period of corruptness. While we toured the museum, Jane, our guide, told us stories of his good deeds. She wants us to one day share these stories with our daughters.

Okay, now back to Becca's history as she sure is making some wonderful memories for us to share with you all. As you can see in the photo, she is bundled up quite nicely but we still managed to get advice from the "fashion police." It seems her shoes, yes shoes, were cold and they needed to be covered. One might think this is annoying or frightful to have strangers frequently assisting you but it really is endearing and they all mean well.

After spending the morning at the above sites, we ate lunch in our room and spent some more quality time with Becca. We are really getting to know her personality quickly. Her apprehension with us is dissipating. Yesterday, when we would hand her to the other parent or even come near her while the other parent was holding her, she would cry. She now is so comfortable with us that we can approach her and take her with ease.