Chinese

Ann has been speaking Chinese for 6 hours straight, roughly translating between us and Yunyun. Though her former caretakers described her as very shy, Yunyun seems to have opened up and will ask questions and tell things to Ann. Just two hours after meeting her, we went for a swim in the pool where she was smiling, laughing and splashing.

Guess Who?

Chongqing Civil Affairs

She's here! We went to the Civil Affairs office tower in northern Chongqing to meet Yang Yun (Yunyun). She was very eager to meet us and gave us lots of smiles. She was quite nervous (as much as us, I'm sure), but she appears ready to settle in with us. She's beautiful.


(She's really smiling but you can't tell)

A week in The Furnace

We're in Chongqing. We get to meet Yunyun tomorrow. The sky is finally blue, but the temperature is around 96 degrees. It's supposed to get above 100 degrees this week. Chongqing is sometimes referred to as "The Furnace" because of its summer heat.

Chongqing is the largest city in China and possibly in the world. It is near the earthquake zone and very close to the Three Gorges Dam. Because of the widespread destruction caused by both, there will be millions of people flocking to the city in the next few years.

Here is the view from our rooftop pool:

Us

By request, here are some portraits:

Beijing Flowers

Did you know that you can click on each photo to view the rest of the gallery? My mom didn't. I have almost 300 pictures of the trip so far. Here are the direct links:
Japan
China

We'll be in transit to Chongqing, where it's going to be 104 degrees, much of the day on Sunday. Until I get back online, here are some close ups from around Beijing and the Great Wall:




Chinese wedding locks, to ensure that the marriage is as long as the Great Wall:

Great Wall

A bright and sunny morning in Beijing!:


We visited some of China's most historical landmarks today.

Tienanmen Square:



The Forbidden City:


And then the Great Wall (it was very "foggy", but that made it pretty cool):

Beijing

Met my mom and Ann in the Tokyo airport yesterday and flew into Beijing. Our hotel is really nice. We took a tour of some of Beijing's historical sites today. The entire city is covered in a dense fog, you can only see about a block ahead of you. This is this the most fog I have ever seen, it was with us all day long.

First, we saw the pandas. The Beijing Zoo has around 20 of them. 8 were transported to Beijing from the earthquake zone earlier this month.

Then, the Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven:




The forecast is gray for the next few days, not very good shooting conditions...

Last Night in Japan

Back in Tokyo again for a day. Flying to Beijing tomorrow.

White Skies

I got up early and rented a bike for the day in Kyoto. I biked all over, it was liberating and helped me rest my feet. Kyoto is very fun to bike in, with lots of very narrow roads with less traffic, but also big roads with bike lanes (filled with bikers).

First stop? Nintendo's World Headquarters:

The Golden Pavilion:


And more:

Kyoto

Another gray day, but Kyoto isn't at all humid, unlike Tokyo. Kyoto is more traditional and quite ornate. There are lots of large temples and shrines.