We returned home safely from our trip to China on May 7, 1999. We accompanied our daughter and son-in-law to China to adopt a baby on April 21, 1999. We were concerned because of the unrest caused by the Chinese espionage case in the U.S. and China's position on NATO's action with Yugoslavia. We were flying home when the inadvertent bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade took place.

We returned home with a granddaughter, Maya Xiao Bo. Xiao Bo was the Chinese first name given to our little girl and our kids felt that they should retain it as her middle name. We were part of a group that went through the adoption process with 15 children. 11 came from Gao-an, 2 from Nanchang, 1 from Jiujiang, and our little girl came from the Shangrao orphanage. All of the children were quite healthy and ranged in age from about 6 months to 18 months old. Maya's birth date was estimated at July 28, 1998 but she was one of the smallest in the group. She was abandoned at about 2-3 days old and left at the gates of the orphanage. When checked in the U.S., her physical size was more equivalent to a 5 month old child, although some of her motor skills did approximate the 9 month old age that was listed on her birth record. She does sit up some but does not attempt to roll over or crawl. When my daughter first received her she would not reach out to grab anything but that changed very quickly so we expect to see rapid development in other areas as well which seems consistent with other reports parents have made.

We could not travel to Shangrao as it is a closed city but our China liaison did, took some pictures and gave us a report on conditions there. Shangrao orphanage is a small orphanage (45 children) in the city of Shangrao, 170,000 population, about 7 hours by bus from Nanchang. The buildings were constructed 35-40 years ago and show their age. They are now in the process of constructing a new building about 3 kilometers from the old one so he did not see the status of the construction. The babies were placed 2 to a crib for sleeping and they used the little wooden chairs to care for them when they were up. We did travel to the Jiujiang orphanage, and felt that they were making a serious effort to keep things as clean as possible and the babies were being well cared for. There were about 100 children in this orphanage with 25 under 1 year old.

Photos of the old Shangrao Orphanage obtained by liaison:

We traveled to Beijing via Detroit from Minneapolis MN. We spent 3 days sightseeing in Beijing and stayed at the Harbour Plaza hotel. We flew to Nanchang to pick up the babies and stayed at the Lakeview Hotel. The initial plans called for us to stay in Nanchang for 6 days but we were delayed and spent 9 days there due to the May day holiday and some delays in the adoption process. From Nanchang we flew to Guangzhou to finalize the adoption with medical exams and interviews with the American Consulate and to obtain the Visa for Maya. We stayed at the White Swan Hotel which is only a few steps from the American Consulate so it is very convenient. There are also many places to shop in the hotel and within walking distance. Our return flight took us through HongKong to Tokyo and on to Minneapolis, MN. We stayed overnight at the Regal Hotel adjacent to the airport in HongKong which worked very well, no shuttles or taxis needed.

Everyone that we came in contact with in China was very friendly but communications is a problem even when accompanied by a translator. A Chinese phrase book would be very helpful if you attempt to venture out on your own. Our Chinese liaison handled all of lodging and travel in China, bargained for the best rates where possible, and as a result required cash payments. We had planned to use our credit cards for these so we had to make a trip to a bank to secure additional cash which was only a minor inconvenience. You can use credit cards for many things but cash does work the best and the hotels would exchange US dollars to Chinese currency(RMB). Riding through traffic in Beijing and Nanchang is story in itself so be prepared for delays.

Our daughter and son-in-law worked through Crossroads in Edina, MN and they felt that they were very helpful but lacked some knowledge on preparing some of the forms. Overall the trip went very smoothly. Our liaison in China did an excellent job but a group of 15 adoptive families (about 50 people counting the babies) stretches the ability to do things in a timely manner. Our experiences on this China trip are unforgettable to say the least. We were very fortunate to be able to share this adoption experience with our children.