Great Walls of China: Pagodas and Parks

Today we had the opportunity to visit one of the three most famous pagodas in all of China. It was a really beautiful traditional Chinese building originally built by a man who was both the son and brother of Chinese emperors. He built it to show his great wealth and as a place to entertain guests.

Unfortunately he was a better painter than he was a leader. He especially enjoyed painting butterflies. He eventually lost all his wealth.

But a very famous poet visited the pagoda and wrote a very famous poem there; a poem which praised the beauty of the building. This made the pagoda famous. The saying is that the poem made the pagoda famous and the pagoda makes the poem eternal.

Also unfortunately, as a very famous spot, it has been a target during wars. The pagoda we visited today is actually the 29th incarnation. It was last destroyed--burned to the ground--in 1929 and rebuilt in 1985.

It was beautiful anyway. We climbed all seven stories, and each level had different things to see. There were several copies of the poem engraved in different materials, and several paintings and statues of the poet. There was a mural of all the famous people who come from this province. There were old brass bells and tea tables.

On the top story there was a small stage and we arrived just in time to hear and see a traditional performance. I'm pretty sure the songs praised the beauty of the building and talked about the poet.

After the pagoda we went to People's park, a large area in the middle of the city. No cars=heaven! There were lots of kindergartens out in the park and all the little ones were in costumes. It took us a few minutes to remember that today was Halloween.

The girls went on the swings and we took them on the carousel in the middle of the park. We also fed the koi in the lake. It was really fun and relaxing.

We went back to the dumpling restaurant for lunch, because dumplings are Maia's favorite food and everyone else could get something they liked there too. I had kung pao chicken with rice. Nothing like what you might find in the US. I love real Chinese food.

Then we came back to the room as Darryl has not been feeling his very best and we all needed a rest. Most of us slept for a couple of hours and the rest watched movies and played games. Maia layed down with me and snuggled up for a nap. She had been up very early this morning crying so she was exhausted. All things considered she seems to be doing really well, and she is really bonding with me.

We had dinner in our room and went down to the pool, which we have done every night. We are amazed at how brave Maia is in the water. Our guide says she has never been in a pool before but she jumps right in. The big problem is that she has zero body fat and it doesn't take long before she gets really cold. Her little fingers and toes turn blue. Just to give you an idea, Alaina weighs 54 pounds. Maia is about three inches taller and weighs just 45.

We are having a good adjustment I think. We do have a long road ahead but we were expecting that. It will help when she can at least understand English. It won't take long I think; she seems to be really smart.

We are having a good adjustment I think. We do have a long road ahead but we were expecting that. It will help when she can at least understand English. It won't take long I think; she seems to be really smart.

Here are a few pictures from the day.