We have an Itinerary!
The Itinerary for Chongqing Group

Date Arrangement & possible Activities
June 2 Thursday. Leave LA for Beijing via Shanghai by MU586.

Flight: Continental CO0735
Dep: CLE, 9:00am
Arr: LAX, 10:49am
Notes: Boeing 737-800, Breakfast, duration 4:49

Flight: China Eastern, MU586
Dep: LAX 1:30pm
Arr: Shanghai, 6:15pm, June 3
Notes: Airbus A340-600, duration 13:45

Flight: China Eastern, MU586
Dep: Shanghai, 9:50pm
Arr: Beijing, 11:50pm
Notes: Airbus A320, duration 2:00

June 3 Friday. Arrive in Beijing, 11:50pm
Stay at:
Holiday Inn Downtown Beijing
Tel.: 0118610-6833-8822
Fax: 0118610-6834-0696

June 4 Sat. Visit the Great Wall. An acrobatic show in the evening.

June 5 Sunday. Temple of Heaven, Tiananman Square, Forbidden City. Lunch at Hard Rock Cafe. Visit a silk factory. Then go to the airport to Chongqing,
Flight: Air China 4142
Dep: Beijing, 5:10pm.
Arr: Chongqing, 7:30pm.
Notes: Dinner, Boeing 737, duration 2:20
Stay at:
Marriott J W Chongqing
Tel: 0118623-6388-8888.
Fax: 0118623-63809425

June 6 Monday. We will go to Fuling 9:00am to get babies at 9:00am. The one way trip will take about two hours bus ride, and back to the city for adoption registration in the afternoon.

June 7 Tuesday. Relax, bonding and do some shopping in between.

June 8 Wednesday. Visit the Zoo to see pandas, back to the hotel by 1:00pm.

June 9 Thursday. Visit the Three Gorges Museum and back to the hotel around 1:00pm.

June 10 Flight: China Southern, CZ 3416
Dep: Chongqing, 4:40pm
Arr: Guangzhou, 6:20pm.
Notes: Boeing 757, duration 1:40
Stay at:
Victory Hotel
Tel.: 0118620-8121-6688
Fax: 0118620-8121-6062

June 11 Sat. Do babies medical in the morning. Walking distance. Fill the paper for visa process in the afternoon.

June 12 Sun. Visit Jade, and Pearl Market, shopping and sightseeing.

June 13 Monday. Appointment at 11:00am, and only Zhou will go.

June 14 Tue. Parents need to go to the U.S. Consulate in the morning for a short ceremony. Zhou will get the visa in the afternoon.

June 15 Wed. We are leaving Guangzhou for Shanghai by CZ 3609, Dept.time 10:00am. Arrive Shanghai at 11:50am. Then make MU 583 connection to LA at 2:55pm. Arrive in LA at 11:30am the same day.

Flight: China Southern, CZ 3609
Dep: Guangzhou, 9:50am
Arr: Shanghai, 11:50am
Notes: MDC MD-82, duration 1:55

Flight: China Eastern MU583
Dep: Shanghai, 2:55pm
Arr: LAX, 11:30am
Notes: Meal, Airbus A340-600, duration 11:35

Flight: Continental CO0566
Dep: LAX 3:05pm
Arr: CLE 10:24pm
Notes: Boeing 737-700, Dinner, duration 4:19


All times are local.
China is 12 hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time, so 6pm here is 6am the next morning in China

Here's a picture of Liann sent to us on Mother's Day -

The Place where You Live
China's a pretty big place, and just like any other pretty big place, it's provinces and regions are distinct and have their own unique identities. Given that, I thought it might be helpful to those of you who are following our journey to know a little bit about the region where Liann was born.

Liann is living at the moment at the Chongqing Fuling First Social Welfare Institute. If you're interested, there's a terrific website created by families of children adopted from Fuling called "Fuling Kids International" (www.fulingkids.org).

In China, Fuling is a district in the Chongqing Municipality. It has a population of slightly more than 1 million people in 2941 sq. km. (according to Wikipedia). Chongqing (which means "double celebration") is one of four of China's provincial-level municipalities; while provinces (like Hunan or Sichuan) are the most common type of province-level division, China's four municipalities have the same administrative level as a province. Beijing is another of China's municipalities, for example. In theory, municipalities are large cities; but Chongqing is an example where the rural population is greater than the urban population. Chongqing has over 32 million people within its borders, most of them living outside of the city, over hundreds of miles of farmland. In 2004, Chongqing ranked as the 10th largest urban area of China.

Chongqing is located in central China, at the edge of the Yungui Plateau, and is intersected by the Jialing River and the upper reaches of the Yangtze. It is very hilly, and gets very hot and humid in the summer; Greg has seen a quote calling it "China's furnace." The controversial Three Gorges Dam, in the Three Gorges area between Yichang and Fuling, has been under construction since 1994; its reservoir began filling in 2003 and is expected to be complete in 2009; it will be the largest hydroelectric dam in the world when it is complete.

Culinary-wise, Fuling is known for the "Fuling Pickle," made from a large, radish-like vegetable. Chongqing is known for its many different types of hotpots. A hotpot has a soup base, usually very spicy. This pot of boiling soup is placed in the middle of the table, where diners put a variety of vegetables and meat in it to cook and eat.

So all told, I think the region where Liann was born is going to be fascinating to see and learn about first-hand. And I can't wait to taste the hotpot.

Introducing Liann Aiyu Downs
Hi everyone -

Greg, Will and I received our packet from China on Monday, April 18, 2005 containing pictures and information about our daughter, Fu Ai Yu. Here are her vital statistics:

Name: Fu Ai Yu (to be called Liann Aiyu Downs)

Her name translates as "Love-Rare Treasure" or loosely translated, "Precious treasure."

Birthdate: June 23, 2004

Orphanage: Chongqing, Fuling Social Welfare Institute

Weight at time she was found: 6 lb. 10 oz.
Height at time she was found: 20 in.

Current weight (as of 4/20/05): 21 lb.
Current height (as of 4/20/05): 27 1/2 in.

If you're wondering, the way we know this is because the orphanage provided our agency, EAC, with updated measurements and pictures taken on that day.

So without further delay, here are the pictures.

Here's the smaller picture, showing her trepidation. . .

And here are her updated pictures too.