Where We'll Be....Part I

As we get ready to travel (and pack for two completely different climates- freezing and subtropical), I want to share a little about where our new daughter has spent the first five years of her life. 

Shenyang, China, is eight hours northeast of Beijing.  It's only three hours from North Korea and eight hours from Russia.  And you guessed it....it's cold this time of year!  Traveling the first week of December, we'll be stocked with our warmest attire.  I'm comparing it to the weather in Minneapolis.  It'll be in the 20s during the day, single digits at night, but it could easily dip below zero.  (Last year in December, another adoptive family said it was -20 degrees!  Oh my!) There will most likely be snow on the ground.  We're bringing lots of games and fun stuff for the hotel room, just in case it gets bitterly cold.  I heard great news that there is an underground mall/shopping area near our hotel.  That will be tremendously helpful! 

It looks like a beautiful city!

Shenyang is the fifth largest city in China with a population of 7.4 million.  It's an important industrial center, and it serves as the transportation and commercial hub of northeast China. 

It was once the capital of China and is home to the only Imperial Palace outside Beijing, first built in 1625 by the Qing Dynasty.  We will certainly be taking a tour of this amazing piece of history!

While we are there, we will also ask our guide to take us to Jia's "finding place".  She was found at 13 months old.  We have the address, but I don't know what kind of building it is.  A school?  A government building?  Children are often left in highly visible places to ensure they will be found quickly.  The address did not come up in Google Maps, so hopefully, our guide can help us.  We want to have a picture of that location so we can share that part of her history with her someday. 

After a week in Shenyang, we will receive Jia's passport.  Then Rachel, Jia, and I will head to Guangzhou, a four hour flight south, and Mike will head back home via Beijing. 

More on Guangzhou later....