Arrived in Guangzhou

First, to catch you up on yesterday, since I feel asleep as soon as Phoebe went down. . .We spent the day playing tourist, which was much more interesting than the smokey playroom in the hotel. First we visited Ayi, a 1200 year old Chinese village in the rice fields that has opened itself up to tourists while still pretty much maintaining their traditional way of life. I'm not sure how exactly they have pulled this off, but there are no vendors hawking their wares, no one shouting "Hal-lo, where you go?", no children clambering for free candy and pictures. People sit on their stoops and smile kindly as the tourists amble by with Chinese babies on their hips and cameras around there necks. There were tiny walkways (all paved, thanks to the income of tourists), women cooking just inside the windows, motor bikes parked in the path, clothes lined out to dry, red banners lining the doorways. A nice little glimpse into lives that are children were likely born into.

Then we visited a huge Tengwang Pavilion, a beautiful pagoda that towers six stories above the city of Nanchang, built as a place for artists and poets to gather and work. On the top floor was a music and dance performance, with bells, drums, stringed instruments, and woodwinds, all performed in elaborate and colorful Chinese costume. The place was full of art-- copper sculpture (including the happiest Buddha I have ever seen), paintings, and calligraphy. We wandered through the Chinese garden, too, on the way home.

As beautiful as that was, we were all quite ready to end the time in the province and get on to Guangzhou. We have Phoebe's Chinese passport now, and that was the last step. We packed up our bags and introduced Phoebe to flying. It was late and she was sound asleep when we arrived in Guangzhou to the White Swan Hotel. There is a waterfall in the lobby and banyan trees outside, with a beautiful view of the river from the window. We'll start exploring in the morning.

Phoebe, in the meantime, has turned into quite a happy baby! She loves to flop her head backwards from her perch in the Ergo carrier on my chest to beg for kisses from her daddy-- then does it another ten times in a row. She laughs easily and sometimes cracks herself up all by herself playing with a book. She's a good stander now, but always breaks the stand by collapsing in my arms for a hug. We know that everyone says that real bonding happens once you get home, but we think we are off to a pretty good start.