After breakfast, we all head for the airport and climb aboard our next plane, bound for Guangzhou. It's rainy, apparently the result of several typhoons in the area. En route from the airport to the hotel, a small truck cuts in front of our small bus clipping the side mirror on the right. A repeat of what happened in Guilin to the same mirror, but there is more damage with this incident. Some shouting between the drivers occurs and no one moves until the other driver surrenders his driver's license to our driver to assure that he will drive to meet our driver at the hotel. Our driver has quickly phoned to learn the price of a new mirror. The understanding is that the other driver will pay for it. We don't see what happens in the end but Jocelyn tells us that the other driver does not have enough money to cover the cost. Somehow, the police and insurance companies are involved by now.
Jocelyn explains that the airport where we arrived was completed in 2004 . She explains that Cantonese is still the primary language spoken in Guangzhou. Aside from Beijing, Shanghai, and Chongqing, Guangzhou is the 4th largest city in China. She says that factories for manufacturing are moving to the suburbs of Guangzhou in what are called "satellite cities" while the city remains the center for trading. She describes that there is a lot of building going on just now in preparation for the Asia Games this coming November. She also explains that, since 2006, scooters are no longer allowed in Guangzhou due to the pickpocketing incidents that were on the rise. Bicycles are still allowed, however.
We check in at the White Swan Hotel and immediately notice American families in the lobby with newly adopted Chinese youngsters - babies and older children - so we introduce ourselves.
Jocelyn ushers us over to the Petrus Restaurant for lunch which takes forever to be served to us. Lunch is preceded by the smell coming from the sewer truck parked next to the restaurant. Ugh.
A bit later, we are en route to see the photo shop where all new adoptees have their photos taken as part of the out processing routine from China followed by a quick stop at the place where the new adoptees have a medical examination. Both our families remember these places.
We're off next by bus to the Guangdong Folk Arts Museum which we visited with Ross in 1999 on our adopting Anna trip. This building used to be a temple. There are exquisite ivory carvings in glass cases all around. On the other hand, it is pointed out that tablets that used to hang in place memorializing ancestors - about 5000 of them - were taken and/or destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. There is a special exhibit of paper-cut works by Yang Wensheng in one of the rooms. The colorful roofline with the animal carvings is a gorgeous sight to behold.
Back at the White Swan Hotel, we set out to walk around Shamian Island and go into Christ Church for a bit. As in 1999, looks pretty stark but we are welcomed there by an older woman. We note the sweet bronze sculptures dotted around island. We unwittingly treat ourselves to a more expensive snack than we anticipated in the coffee shop, but the evening view along the Pearl River is beautiful. We follow that by a heartier snack at "The Deli Shop" located just outside the White Swan Hotel. Off to bed. Next stop, Nanjing tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment