Two Jian'ou Girls

On our trips to adopt our two daughters, the first one in July-August 1999 and the second one from May-June 2001, we had a terrific time in China. We stayed at the Lakeside Hotel on West Lake in Fuzhou. The Lakeside is a wonderful hotel that is considered 5 stars in China. It deserves all of those stars (some hotels in China do not). The amenities at the hotel are first rate (for China) and the staff is very helpful and friendly. The rooms are fairly spacious, the cribs they give you are super (I wished that I could take it home with me), and there is even a bowling alley with flourescent bowling bowls if you are so inclined. There is one main restaurant which is pretty good, but gets boring after a few days. The hotel also has a Japanese and a more traditional Chinese restaurant that are good. The hotel is really conveniently located not far from a nice market to buy groceries, baby food, etc.--and a McDonald's which all of us seem to need when traveling abroad.

I did not go to Jian'ou but received both daughters at the Lakeside Hotel. I met our first daughter in the hotel lobby. It was a little awkward at first, but we (the Director, Asst. Director and our guide) went off to a side sitting area and had a great discussion for over an hour. She was the only baby coming from Jian'ou so I had the Director all to myself. He and the Asst. Director patiently answered all of my questions and I have a lot of background to share with my daughter when she gets older.

When I adopted my second daughter, there were two babies from Jian'ou and two from Nanping. We met them in the hotel room of one of our guides. It was also a great experience although we received the babies at midnight (our plane from Beijing had been delayed). We spoke for a short time to the orphanage staff and then meet them the next day to have all of our questions answered. It was equally as good as the first time. The Director and Asst. Director were very open and shared very valuable information about my daughter with me. I think that they are incredibly wonderful people.

For both of my children, I had sent a CARE package with a disposable camera and some clothes and toys. The orphanage staff took all of the pictures both times and I now have some wonderful photos to share with my daughters. They also gave both girls the clothes and toys and even brought them all the way to Fuzhou to return all of them to me when I received my girls. I told them that I wanted all of the things, except the camera, to be a donation to the orphanage. I was overwhelmed with their carrying all of that stuff all the way to Fuzhou with them.

The Director brought with him a good amount of the milk powder that both of my girls were drinking at the time. He wanted to make sure that I had enough to start them off with what they were used to. They also gave me great information about what the girls were eating. They throughly answered my questions about sleep patterns, pee and pooping stuff and personality. They were "right on" with both of my girls too.

I really enjoyed the city of Fuzhou during both of my visits. There is a beautiful temple in the city (right next to Fuzhou Univ.) that is so peaceful and welcoming to visitors. Also, don't forget to check out the incredible laquareware factory, the Min River which runs through the city, Drum Mountain, and West Lake Park if you can.