Photo with Rebecca's Nanny

Rebecca brightened up quickly when she got to spend a few minutes with the nanny who cared for her in the orphanage. We got some good photos of her play areas and of her crib where she slept the last few months before we arrived this week.

Group Photo at the Fuling SWI

Here we are all at the Fuling orphanage with some of the gifts that we bought for the children on the table in front of us.

A Visit to the Fuling Orphanage

We took a road-trip today to the Social Welfare Institute in Fuling, about a 2.5 hours drive from Chongqing through mountainous terrain and tunnels. Here we are in the orphanage courtyard.

Dinner Time!

Rebecca is starting to have a lot more fun. She loved eating Congee with Spinach at dinner, and, even more, playing with her coral colored cloth napkin! She was really clowning around and absolutely loving all the attention.

Mama Panda was Sure Hungry!

At the Zoo...

Here's our entire Barker group at the Chongqing zoo this morning (Tuesday morning). All the babies had a great time!

It's Official, She is Ours Forever!

Gotcha!

REBECCA!!!

Beijing's Old-Style Courtyard Houses

Here's our whole Barker group in the "main hall" section of a traditional Beijing Courtyard House. A Rickshaw ride through the city's alleyways ("hutong") reveals many such traditional courtyard houses ("siheyuan"), most of which are now state owned.

At the far left, is the Christian woman who is currently mistress of the house; then, there's Catherine, Melanie, Janelle, Edmund, Charlie, and Steve.

A Rainy Rickshaw Ride

We flew to Chongqing this morning, leaving Beijing during a snow storm, believe it or not! Here in Chongqing, it's too warm to wear a jacket. It feels like it must be about 70 degrees or so.

We've just been to the store to buy diapers: We get Rebecca this time tomorrow (Monday), at about 4:30pm!

After getting back to Beijing yesterday, we went for a Rickshaw tour of the old neighborhood of Beijing. Here we are, huddled under the Rickshaw's plastic tarp.

The Great Wall of China

It was a rainy and foggy Saturday to visit the Great Wall of China, but visit we did, and climb we did... That's a lot of steps straight up! Catherine made it full up to the second tower from the bottom. Steve made it up four towers! The towers were spaced by the builders about two arrow shots apart to leave no part of the carriageway unprotected. The Great Wall itself was created after the unification of China under Qin Shi Huangdi (221-120 BCE).

Oh Yes, We Did Eat Today...

We had more food at lunch than we could possible all finish: fish, egg-drop soup, steaming beef, two kinds of pork, and much more... I (Steve) enjoyed the meal, especially the big flat fish. More things were fried and the sauces were heavier and sweeter, we all found, in comparison with the Chinese food that we are used to in the states. It's unclear yet whether these are general traits of Beijing food, or just the style of this one restaurant.

Summer Palace: View of Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill

Beyond Catherine and me in this shot you can see the slopes of Longevity Hill (Wanshou Shan) assending from the palace Lake (a huge artificial lake). The Tower of the Fragrance of the Buddah (Foxiang Ge) dominates the hill, but other impressive religious buildings are also visible.

The "Summer Palace," Beijing

Another great full-group photo. From left to right: Steve, Catherine, Edmund, Janelle, Melanie, and Charlie. Here we are on a picturesque bridge by the East Palace complex of the Summer Palace, a sprawling 716 acre imperial retreat of the Qing Dynasty. The residence and park was built up and made famous by the Empress Dowager Cixi in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The Temple of Heaven

Here's our full Barker-Agency group at the Temple of Heaven, one of the largest temple complexes in China and a paradigm of Chinese architectural balance and symbolism. Each year at the winter solstice, the emperor would sacrifice and pray to Heaven for a good harvest.

Forbidden City: The Imperial Gardens

The spectacular gardens in the north part of the Forbidden City date from the reign of the Ming Yongle emperor. They include pavilions, temples, halls, rock gardens, and ancient trees. This was perhaps my (Steve's) favorite part of the complex.

The Forbidden City (Outer Court)

Just North of Tian'an Men Square is the Forbidden City, China's most magnificent architectural complex (completed in 1420). The huge palace was home and court to 24 emperors for nearly 500 years. It was the symbolic center of the Chinese universe, and the exclusive domain of the imperial court and its dignitaries. Here Catherine and I are standing in the Outer Court, easily the most impressive and imposing part of the complex.

Tian'an Men Square

We started our first day in Beijing bright and early with a huge buffet breakfast at our hotel, the Regent Beijing, and a trip to Tian'an Men Square. The Square of the Gate of Heavenly Peace is a vast open expanse at the heart of modern Beijing. It's like the DC mall and NY's time square in one. Here is Catherine with our guide for the duration, LiFeng.

Made it to Tokyo-Narita (NRT) Airport

It is about 4pm local time at Tokyo-NRT airport on Thursday, March 1st. Our connecting flight to Beijing departs in a little over an hour, and we are waiting comfortably in the ANA lounge. Steve is going to get a drink and, if I have my guess, it would be coffee, but since it is 2am in the morning at home, he had a Perrier.



We had a smooth flight and a very comfortable one. Long, but Steve says it was one of the best flights he has experienced. Hurray for business class! The food we ate by choice was Japanese. When in Japan, eat as the locals do. Everyone in Japan bows to you and is super polite. Very little turbulence on the flight.

The business lounge, where we are now waiting, is neat and decorated in a natural modern style.

I was sick a little last night, due in part to having put on a med-patch on my ear to handle motion sickness. On the plane we saw a bassinet for a baby in enconomy and that baby was sleeping in it quite peacefully.

This has been a little overwhelming---a long haul flight. We miss you all, and shall post when we can after ariving in Beijing.