Scenes from China

An amazingly diverse set of pictures from around China showing many different facets of comtemporary life in that huge country.

Scenes from China - The Big Picture - Boston.com:

The Water Cube Is Now a Water Park

     When we last traveled to China, it was September 2008. The Beijing Olympics had just finished a few weeks before, and we were hoping to get a chance to visit some of the venues that we had seen on TV back home in the States. What we didn't know until we got to China was that after the Olympics is held, the same country then gets to sponsor the Paralympics, and those games had begun on the day we arrived. Since the "Bird's Nest" and the "Water Cube" were still being used for competitions, we had to settle for viewing them from the outside. (Access was limited to folks having tickets for the events, of course.) Here's a pic of the family (minus our youngest daughter, who we hadn't picked up, yet) showing how close we were able to get.

     In the 2 years since that visit, we have heard that the Chinese government has been having trouble scheduling events large enough to use the Bird's Nest. But we hadn't heard much about what was happening to the Water Cube. Well, early last month it was re-opened as the largest water park in Asia. You can read the full report here. And here is a video showing a little of what this new attraction looks like.



     This seems like a very creative use of this venue, and hopefully it will be very successful. Now, what can they turn the Bird's Nest into?

Landslides strike Zhouqu County, China

Amazing, heartbreaking pictures of the aftermath of the flooding and landslides in China this week.


Landslides strike Zhouqu County, China - The Big Picture - Boston.com

The End of an Era

For many of us who have adopted a child from the Jiangxi Province in China, the Lakeview Hotel in Nanchang will be forever etched in our memories (and our photos) as the place where we spent the first hours and days with out new family members.

The distinctive round shape and bright outside colors and the huge atrium interior made us feel that China was quickly moving towards "first world" status, even when we visited in 2001. 

Well. a few months ago the Lakeview looked like this. 

You can read the whole article about "what happened" and see a few more pics of the demolition here. We're lucky we have our memories and our photos because the actual place is gone forever.  

The State of Adoption from China

Recently, I received a very interesting report that was written by Elisa Rosman, Ph.D. for the National Council for Adoption in Alexandria, Virginia. It contains a detailed description of the problems faced by families trying to adopt from China at this point in time (the report was written in late 2009). Also included is a review of current research on children adopted from China and their families. Research areas covered include Growth and Development, Behavior Issues, Language Development, Boys from China, Adoption/Cultural Issues, and Family Dynamics.

Overall, the report on the state of adoption from China was a bit depressing (as most of us already knew), but the research summary gives those of us with kids already adopted from China reason to feel optimistic that they will adapt to their new homes and thrive in years to come.

To read the complete report, go here. And to visit the website of the National Council for Adoption, go here.  It's reading that is well worth the short time you will spend.