Our travel plans are starting to take shape (sorta, kinda). Here is a general outline sent by our agency.

TRAVEL IN CHINA

When you first arrive in China, if you are touring first you may choose to arrive in Beijing, Hong Kong, Guangzhou or elsewhere. If you want to sightsee prior to the adoption, your departure date will be a few days earlier than when you need to be in your child's

provincial capital/municipality. If you do not take an optional tour, you will generally continue from your point of entry into China directly on to the capital/municipality of the adoption province.

Either shortly after your arrival in the provincialcapital/municipality or the next morning,

you will receive your child in the Civil Affairs Office. You will remain in this city during the first week of your trip and your facilitator/guide will work closely with you to complete

the Chinese requirements for adoption. Most days will have something official to do for part of the day, but there will be plenty of time for shopping or sightseeing as well. Friday

is usually spent waiting for your child's Chinese passport, birth certificate, abandonment certificate and adoption certificate. The weekend is a great time to tour the area and if allowed, a visit to your child's orphanage. Generally on Sunday, you will fly to

Guangzhou, Guangdong to complete the American side of the paperwork. There may be other Harrah's'AIM families in GJ at the same time and your facilitator/guide will help all of you

to carefully and properly prepare forms in advance for the visa appointment at the U.S. Consulate. Your child will have a medical exam and be photographed prior to the visa appointment. The visas will be ready 24 hours after the visa appointment. Once you

receive the visa, and are sworn in, you will be free to depart China. This is usually after 7pm the day following your Consulate appointment.

We will give you YOUR detailed schedule before you travel. Every adoption trip is unique and may vary but but this is a typical schedule of how you will spend your time in China.

Wednesday: (optional) – Arrive in China at optional tour destination

Sunday: – Arrive in provincial capital/municipality

Monday: Receive your child and begin adoption paperwork for Chinese government

Tuesday thru Thursday: Get to know your new child; visit local area for sightseeing and shopping.

Friday: Receive completed adoption paperwork including birth certificate, abandonment certificate, adoption certificate and passport

Sunday: Travel to Guangzhou, Guangdong

Monday: Medical exam and visa photo as required by U.S. Consulate

Tuesday: Appointment at U.S. Consulate to apply for entry visa

Wednesday: Receive visa and attend swearing-in ceremony.

Depart China that evening after 7pm

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We do plan to tour Beijing first; Here is the tour itinerary:

FIVE DAY BEIJING TOUR
DAY ONE
Upon arrival, your guide will pick you up at the airport and take you to your
hotel.

DAY TWO
Western breakfast at hotel
Forbidden City
Lunch at a local family's house
Hutong Tricycle Tour
Temple of Heaven
Dinner (Peking duck) (Kong Fu Show as optional)

DAY THREE
Western breakfast at hotel
Great Wall (Mu Tian Yu)
Lunch
Sacred Way (Ming Tomb)
Mongolian Restaurant (Acrobatic Show is optional)

DAY FOUR
Western breakfast at hotel
Summer Palace
Lunch
Bi Yun Temple
Dinner

DAY FIVE
Western breakfast at hotel. Check out at hotel. Your guide will take you back
to airport and you will fly to your child's province.


Highlights: Forbidden City, Great Wall, Bi Yun Temple, Acrobatics.

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We plan to do the acrobat show and the kung fu show. I'm not so sure about the "lunch with a local family". I think my wild children would damage international relations with the Chinese.

I was looking through my travel book, and some of the hotels seem pretty nice. They have pools and cafes and bowling alleys. My kids are going to go through Xbox withdrawal so they'll need things to keep them busy.

So, we will go to Beijing first (which is in north east China) for a few days. Then fly to Nanchang in Jiangxi Province which is in south eastern China. We will get C there and spend a few days getting her paperwork in order. I'm hoping for a day trip to Jingdezhen where she is from (same province, 3-4 hours away from Nanchang by car). I also really want to see the Yangzte River and maybe catch a glimpse of Ping.

After Nanchang we fly south to Guangzhou to complete the American side of the adoption at the consulate. We spend a couple of days there.

Since we end our trip in Guangzhou (which is in far south China), I have a fantasy that we will take a train or ferry to Hong Kong and fly home from there after spending a day or two at Ocean Park or Hong Kong Disneyland . We may be too exhausted, but how often do you get to do something like that?