We spent Wednesday morning on Shamian Island. It used to be the center of the adoption scene in Guangzhou as the main adoption hotel, the White Swan, the US consulate, and the medical exam were all located on the island. The streets were lined with shops that all catered to the adoptive parent.
Now the White Swan is closed and the consulate and medical exam have moved into the center of Guangzhou. Most of the shops have closed or are really struggling. It is very sad.
We stayed at the other hotel, the Victory, for Taylor's adoption in 2009. It is still open, but very few families stay at it.
We spent the morning shopping for Chinese outfits, squeaky shoes, and other souvenirs. We ate lunch at Lucy's Diner with another adoptive family.
There is a school on the island and they do exercises in the park in the middle.
The retired people also enjoyed the scenery while they did Tai Chi and hackey sack. They were really good.
Many of the grandparents take care of their grandchildren while the parents work.
Many wedding photos are taken on the beautiful island. We also saw some fashion photo shoots.
It is a requirement that you pose your child with this statue. (Just kidding, but it is a popular picture spot.)
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1 comment:
I didn't realize that not much was happening on the island any more. Is the White Swan going to reopen? Are they going to move any of the things back to the island? Such a shame... I like being sort of secluded on that little island where most people spoke English.
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