May 2000

The May 2000 group split into 8 families travelling to Hefei and 7 to Nangchang. The group rejoined for a final week in Beijing. Sharon Wagner offered the Hefei trip report; the Nangchang report was compiled from notes supplied by Gloria Donald & Janice Macdonald.

Heife

To all that dream. May you know in the heart of China one dream of mine came through. From the city with a heart of gold, Timmins, Ontario, to the soul of Hefie,  long awaited journey finally came to rest in a country that took my breath away. In more ways than one: my daughter, a gem of the country, became very quickly a jewel of mine in pictures and miles of video footage. The guides were wonderful in every way, and the people we met were kind and warm to our foreign looks and ways. China is most definitely a place to venture and a place I will never forget.

Most of luck to all of the families, we wish you happiness and good health. It was great being part of this group.

Sharon Wagner (Allison)

Nangchang

It was an excited group of parents-to-be who waited an hour while our plane to Nanchang was delayed due to rain. This was the day we would meet our daughters –  how fitting that it was Mother's Day!!

All of us were getting anxious about meeting our daughters. When we arrived at our hotel in Nang-chang, the beautiful twins, Meg and Ruthie were waiting for their parents: Christine and Rick –  what a moment – I don't think there was a dry eye among us. The rest of us had time to go to our rooms, grab a toy and rush back to the lobby. Ten minutes later, all of our babies had arrived – such excitement, wonder and joy! Our stay in Nanchang was great – the people were friendly, curious and very interest-ed in our families. We had a wonderful time in Nangchang: learning about our daughters, shopping, sightseeing and sampling local restaurants.

Gloria Donald (Lily) & Janice Macdonald (Madeline)