North Xinjiang revisited  

3rd June 2025.

 

We first visited North Xinjiang in early Sept 2024 during fall where I had a fall and broke my wrist. Subsequently post surgery and my full recovery, we revisited in early June 2025 in summer. Fall's weather is cooler but the days are often rainy and cloudy. Summer is not too hot with beautiful clear skies,hardly any rain with sunset times at 10.30 pm++. The clear skies, longer days and less crowds made for better photography and more time to sight-see. I loved the summer visit because the verdant hillsides are covered with wildflowers of many colours -yellows, whites, purples, blues, pinks,orange etc.

Tian Shan  天山    with the cable car ride after the alpine Lake Tianci 天池 with sufficient time to climb the Mayya mountains via safe wooden boardwalks is a must do! The memory of warm sesame studded freshly baked naan bread and the kebabs at Tianci food court still warms my heart.

4th June 

We boarded a 5-hours train to Bole Mongolian prefecture. This comfortable train ride shaves off about 4 hours from the long road journey. We had the most delectable kebabs ( top ranking in taste ) and noodles at RMB 238 for 8 pax lunch in Bole Kashide Restaursnt at Bole https://surl.amap.com/2JDxzk997qb.

Sayram Lake sights in summer are not just the lake itself but many tourists also walk the pretty hillsides including bridal parties. We had a lovely dinner at about 10 pm and checked in to our most expensive luxurious Chaoke Starry Sky Camp/ Glamping resort with state of the art toilets. I loved the astronaut and space display above the beds. Many paragliders are here. There was a national bike race here and several bikers brought their mountain bikes via the train.

5th June 

We went to Kiezi Jiale Lake near Wusu before reaching Karamay. This site is very popular in late October because of the yellow poplar trees lining the lake. We understand desert greening in a better perspective when we go through several "greened "desert towns. On reaching Burqin, we had the most memorable pilaf lamb rice lunch at Yinguo Zhuofan at RMB 219 for 7 pax https://surl.amap.com/1VYG55PD9Ki.

We checked in early to White Birch linjirun Hotel in Burqin and rested. Our luxurious room had  views that overlooked the Kanas Tower Bridge and the White Swan Bridge stop . At 5 pm we headed for the Multi colour beach overlooking the Irtysh River with desert colours on 1 side of the turqoise river while the lower bank is green.  Yes, this time i could clearly see the 5 colours of the rocks.The cool weather at the late evening is better. Burqin by night is a pretty town.We walked the Russian night market after dinner.Here we sample the healthy seabuck thorn drinks grown here for the first time. The riverside views and lights made the whole area very pretty and happening.

6th June 

The route to Kanas Scenic Area 喀纳斯风景区via shuttle bus is spectacular,beautiful and cuci mata ( refreshes the eyes) We took the Kanas Lake Cruise and saw the Fish Platform which we missed going and seeing the previous trip due to the bad weather. I managed to take good photos including 1 of the helicopter hovering over the hillsides. Our lunch in the village in Kanas was also good. We dropped off and walked to the river side for all the scenic spots - the moon bay   Yuèliàng Wān , the fairy bay and the dragon bay . We then drove to the shuttle transfer to go to Hemu Village  禾木村 - Hémù Cūn and checked into Surprise Hotel for 2 nights. The night, my knees hurt badly and I hobbled in pain. Jason prayed for me. 

 7th June 

The next morning,although I was better, I still felt the tight muscles pulling. I sent SOS prayer requests to Sue Ann and Pastor Irene. Miraculously minutes after both requests, my muscles loosen up and I walked that whole day without pain. Tq God for deliverance.We went to the Jike Pulin International Ski Resort - the biggest sea resort in Asia. The public toilets are the best we have found so far in all of China. They are equipped with sea covers and the full works. At 2100 m above sea level, we stop to photograph while trying out the Celebrity Swing over the edge of the mountain. 

At 2880 meters, we enjoyed the scenic views of snow capped mountains of 4 borders - Russia, Mongolia, East Khagystan and China. We threw snow balls for Ava our 5 year-old grand daughter and also sat in a solid snow chair set in a snow alcove. 

We had lunch in Hemu Village. The 4 fitter guys climb the viewing point after the scenic river. Jason & Abdul our guide took me to revist the Hemu Village Hospital where the ambulance sent me to in 2024. My recollection of the hospital and clinic facade was faint because I came in on a stretcher,traumatised and in pain. Later Ialso stood at the exact garden spot where I felI and fainted due to the pain. I declared to the garden patch and the nearby Snow White and 7 dwarfs figurines that I had come back, totally healed and stronger without any fears of Hemu. I thanked God for healing me completely. We had a lovely birthday dinner at Hemu Taoyan Villa Restaurant for RMB 1464 for 7 pax inclusive of yummy birthday cake and drinks. The gardens here are beautiful and the boutique restaurant here is very popular. 

 8th June 

We drove to Keketuohai KKTH Geo Park made famous by the KKTH Shepherd song. I had been misled by the Mandarin name to expect a lake. No, KKTH is a magnificent river canyon of the long Irtysh River. The rock cliffs here reminds me very much of Yosemite in California. There is a 4.5* ski resort in here. I like KKTH. Many ethnic families fish, picnic or camp overnight in yurts by the riverside. Yes there are many shepherds here, on horseback ushering their herds home. 

 At Fuyun we took La Mien dinner at Mayi Laichuntang Beef Noodles https://surl.amap.com/3VqS3H31ca0h at RMB 165 for 6 pax. We then checked in to Hilton at Double Tree Hotel. Again we had penthouse luxury rooms with magnificent river views. 9th June Jason n me took a short walk by the scenic river side before we left for Urumqi. 

Here we checked into our favourite Baley Hotel and was upgraded to a suite. We went to the famous Hongmeiguihua Kebabs Restaurant https://surl.amap.com/3ewBI851gef3. We had yummy roast lamb,roast pigeons, kebabs in garden settings with lacy curtains tied as in a sukkoth at RMB 763 for 7 pax. Many local families also had their meals here. 

Earlier on 3rd June, our 9 seater van in Urumqi  was hit by a loose flying tile. Thank God we all escaped unhurt. But we were very impressed by the efficiency of the traffic police. Our driver immediately called us out of the van and ushered us to a safe place beside the busy expressway. Within 3 minutes of the accident the traffic police arrived and cordoned off sections of the expressway.The police tow truck towed our van across several lanes to the side of the road. Traffic resumed normally in less than 15 minutes. Kudos to China traffic systems! 

We truly thanked God for a lovely trip for safety, lovely views, beautiful local cheap meals, very good hotels with a wonderful Uyghur tour guide Abdul who lent us his Uyghur perspective and connections with the local community. Thanks to Jason who did all the planning, to Jack Fang who liased us with the Xinjiang tour operator and had our guide greet us with rose bouquet at Urumqi brand new airport. Special mention to Jeff, our photo journalist treasurer who sends us links of every food place n exact prices of bills. 

All in all, including our 1 night stay stopover in Guangzhou with 5 great meals, we spent RM 8235 per pax for hotels, transport,food,drinks, tips for guide n drivers. The only other cost needed is the airfare cost which is about RM 3-4k depending on season.

Guangzhou and Beijing 10th - 18th April 2025

Many first time visitors to China normally target Beijing first since it is the capital. Not so with me. This visit to Beijing was done after I have probrably covered 15 other cities in China. Why so? First, I prefer scenic outdoors spots much more than historical and cultural spots.Secondly what I heard about Beijing concerning its smog, weather and food deter me slightly. So this trip to Beijing was only because we were going in spring when the weather is better and we can climb the Great Wall in spring. But we also decided to stop by Guangzhou for 2 nights because of its reputation for yummy food  . 

Day 1 April 10th 2025 Guangzhou 

It was great to meet my cousin  Ming Lian 明涟 and her family for the first time ever in  our lives . The food in Guangzhou is superb. We went to Diandude in Tianhe to eat yummy dim sum. Dinner at Datong was courtesy of Ming Lian and family. We walked off our excessive eating by going to the park Yue Shiu and walking alongside Pearl River. 

Day 2 April 11th Shunde. 

Shunde is touted as the Gastronomical Capital of the world. And yes, it lives up to its reputation! I love the yummy dim sum, the desserts - double skinned milk buffalo milk, ginger bumped milk etc etc. We ate till we could not eat anything more. Food places are Shunde house morning tea 顺德人家早茶 Huagai Street 华盖路步行街, Madam Pork Private dishes 猪肉婆私房菜 . We also went to Qinghui park 清晖园 Shun Feng Park 顺峰山公园 Fishermen Wharf 渔人码头夜景 etc to walk off the food.The walnut crisps 核桃酥 we bought at Fishermen Wharf are so wonderfully memorable. No where in China nor inMalaysia have I tasted such good walnut crisps. Upon returning to Guangzhou, we went to White Swan Hotel and old Beijing Road for shopping and desserts. 

Day 3 April 12th Beijing 

We celebrate God's goodness and timeliness for us. On 11th April, 400 flights to Beijing were cancelled due to strong winds. But our flight on 12th April departed on time despite much turbulence mid-air. Our hotel is walking distance from Beijing Water Cube and Bird Nest Olympic Stadium. We enjoyed the pretty peonies and blooming plum trees there. It was very cold because of the strong winds. We enjoyed our first meal in Beijing with yummy Peking duck.

Day 4 April 13th

Many parks were closed due to the strong winds earlier. At the Botanic Garden, we met a patient garden warden who directed us to visit a small flowering area nearby. Here we enjoyed the flowering red plum trees and spring flowers. We then changed our itinerary to visit the hutongs in Shichahai instead.

Our 1st stop was Yan Dai Jie 烟袋街 Tobacco Pouch Street. Next we visited Shichahai 什刹海 in her glory. Shichahai, is a historical and cultural tourist scenic spot in the North West and is located in the Xicheng ( West District ) adjacent to the central axis of Beijing city. It has a water area of 336,000 square meters and is the only open scenic area with open water in the inner city of Beijing, and is also the largest and most complete historical district in Beijing
We looked for and found our hot spots - the bridges, the narrow streets, the shops with high point views etc. The lovely wind but sunny weather made for great times. We entered ZhonglouWan hutong to look for the Bell ( Clock) tower and the Drum Tower. These 2 towers faced a common square and these 2 towers kept/ announced time since 1270 - the times of Kublai Khan.
We queued at the Michelin Star Fang Zhuan Chang courtesy Jason's googling skills and had a yummy lunch Zhajiangmian soya beans paste noodles and a very appetising tripe with glass noodles dish there.

2nd n 3rd hutong: Wang Fujing 王府井 the shopping street reminds us of Nangjing Road in Shanghai. We walked over to Heping Guoju 和平购物中心 at Basement 2 and experienced Beijing in her nostalgic past.

4th hutong: We took the Didi to XiangYukou 香鱼口 街 past the Qianmen area 和前门街. We had the good fortune to catch a train crossing ahead of us while crossing the hutongs.Here the hutongs streets are much broader with plenty of street food. We rested to drink and escaped from the cold while someone had his ears cleaned.We ended the night with a yummy hotpot dinner for 388 RMB for 4.

Tip: Do use the Didi to avoid being fleeced by taxi drivers. Taxi driver ask for RMB100/-. Didi cost us RMB 41/-. But the temptation to take the waiting taxi is always there due to the cold winds. Mandarin words helped me pronounce, find and understand the locations we went to.

Day 5 April 14th

Taking the S2 Sea of Flowers spring train from Huangtudian 黄土店火车站 toBadaling Great Wall 八达岭长城 via Juyongguan Pass is a hope fulfilled. The train tickets cost RMB 7/-per pax. But sadly the heavy winds earlier had blown off most of the flowers.

This is the first time a Tabernacle of David TOD team of 6 people climbed the Great Wall together. We dressed in TOD new signature steel blue T- shirts. Despite seeing only a small portion of the apricot blooms, we were still very happy. Mid March would have been a better time to see the sea of apricot blossoms on the hills.

There are hordes of people climbing. We climbed the south gate Badaling Great Wall. It was exciting to climb a good portion of the Great Wall together as a team. Some sections were very steep from 45-60° in gradient. Jason,Siang Hwa,Bryan and Joanne went the furthest in distance.

We had a well deserved good meal before boarding the S2 train back. From Huangtudian, we detoured to the Olympic Forest Park and had a great time photographing the lovely flowering trees and the Olympic Torch Building.

We had another yummy Peking duck dinner at a high class restaurant Quan Jude 全聚德

Day 6 April 16th

TOD team in orange T- shirts climbed Mutianyu Great Wall 慕田峪长城 today. Jason, Siang Hwa,Bryan n Joanne reached the last tower Tower 20 while Mui Leng and me were very happy to reach Tower 18. There are very steep sections at some places.

Mutianyu is more popular with foreigners but less crowded as it is 75 km northeast from Beijing . Somehow Badaling GW is very crowded with Asians despite being 79 km to the northwest of Beijing - maybe prehaps due to its accesibility.

We rushed to our next stop Simatai Great Wall 司马台长城 about 140 km north east of Beijing. Simatai has the only Great Wall section that is lit and accessible by night. Our driver Wang was very helpful to ensure we checked in and to reach in time to catch the sunset and night views. I am thankful Jack Fang - our tour operator from mainland China Dragon tours has helped us coordinate logistic details of transport and tickets with helpful recommendations.

Simatai is more rugged. There are no safety side walls and the steps are unevenly spaced. We climbed very slowly up and down to ensure safety. Bryan and Joanne took the route to Tower 6 and 7 while we took the route to Tower 8. Both routes are challenging but perhaps the route to Tower 6 and 7 is safer. We viewed a drone show over Gubei watertown while being up there.

From our 6 star hotel rooms in Gubei watertown, we could see the lighted Great Wall ridge. We went for a long onsen soak to relax our muscles - fatigued by 2 long climbs in a single day.

My mainland blood cousins Ming Gui and Ming Lian says

中国有句古话叫：

不到长城非好汉.

你们现在都是好汉了哈.

If you haven't climbed the Great Wall, you haven't become a hero.

Today the TOD team are heroes 3x. What an awesome day!

7th Day 16th April 2025.

We asked for a late check out from the Gubei Water Town hotel. After breakfast, we went to jetty A and took a slow boat ride on the scenic canal to jetty C. There are many places for photo shoots of traditional buildings, lovely bridges etc. The canal runs through to the site of the church on a hill and offers great views of the Simatai Great Wall, a well-preserved section of the Great Wall with many military outposts. The hiking route is challenging. We came across several groups of cute ducks and geese during our canal town.

Gubei Water Town in Gubeikou Town, 古北口古北水镇 Miyun District, Beijing is 140 km from Beijing exudes historical charm. 90% of our photo and videos credits are to Siang Hwa.

We went from our hotel at Holiday Inn Express at Dongzhimen,Beijing to Botanical Garden,South East Gate. All of us had senior citizens free entry into the park.Yes!!!

We thoroughly enjoyed the tulips 郁金香 festival. We searched and found the peony 牡丹 garden. I totally loved the lilacs 丁香花 garden. We sang and worshipped in the lilacs garden, overwhelmed by their soothing fragrance. The wisteria 紫藤 section brought us much joy. The peach 桃花 garden was simply beautiful and the yellow forsythia 连翘 is so cheerful.

Joanne and me, the FFT were always the first to reach flower sites and the last to leave.

What a lovely relaxing afternoon! Simply thankful to God for beautiful weather, the sense of sight and smell and fellowship of friends and spouse.

8th day 17th April 2025

A long but doable queue to enter TianAn Men Square 天安门 and the Forbidden City 紫禁城. We ar very thankful for Fred, our English speaking tour guide who met us at our hotel, arranged our transport and navigated us through the long queues and passports check points. He pointed to us various buildings from TianAn Men Square and posed us several questions.

We went through an underpass beneath ChangAn Avenue 长安街 a long road separating Forbidden City from TianAn Men Square. We entered through the South Gate and passed through several layers of courts and buildings.

I found the hall where the students took the Imperial examinations interesting. The best candidates from each province sat for the examination. Only the wisest were promoted. This Imperial examination is likely to be the cultural root of the Chinese parental pressure to make their kids shine in school.

The Forbidden City exemplifies the opulence of the residences of the Chinese emperor and traditional Chinese palatial architecture. It influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia. UNESCO list it as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

The Forbidden City central north–south axis remains the central axis of Beijing. This axis extends to the south through Tiananmen Gate to Tiananmen Square, the ceremonial centre of the People's Republic of China, and on to Yongdingmen Gate. To the north, it extends through Jingshan Park to the Drum Tower and Bell Tower. This axis is not exactly aligned north–south, but is tilted by slightly more than two degrees.

Only 4 real men ( non castrated ) are allowed beyond the official meeting places of the Emperor and the court officials. Eunuchs are not deemed real men.

The view from the vantage point 45 m of Jingshan Park 景山公园 over the Forbidden City is lovely. I loved the peony garden and other flowers at the base of Jingshan Park at the West Gate. There is a lovely almost white Chinese fringe tree whom 2 veteran photographers excitedly spoke to us about. There was also a huge lilac tree and a glorious red plum tree.

We went for a quick lunch of steamed buns and Zhajiang mee at Xian Yi Kou 鲜鱼 口before quickly returning to queue for the Temple of Heaven 北京天. TOH is where the emperor prays 3x a year to ShangDi 上帝 the God up in Heaven for Good Harvests. He fast for 3 days from good food, women, wine to cleanse and prepare himself for these prayers.

9th Day 18th April

We went to the Summer Palace. It was beautiful but the day was a wet day so we didn't take many photos. That night, we flew home. It is a happy and fruitful trip.

Long OverDue Visit to my Dad's home village 家乡 in Quanzhou 泉州

We first visited my dad's home village Dongzhang Village 东张村 ,Jieshan town, Quangang, Quanzhou,Fujian in December, 2002 with our parents on both sides,my hubby Jason and our 3 kids 23 years ago.Sue Ann was then 16,Sue Jan 13 and Ken Jon 12 years old. We had planned to visit Dongzhang Village, again in August 2020 but the pandemic in March 2020 prevented all planning. Then my late dad was diagnosed with Stage 4 Liver cancer in July 2020 and he passed away in Aug 2020. After travel restrictions were lifted, my cousin and uncles came over to Malaysia to connect with us. Then we wanted to visit them at Dongzhang Village 东张村 . A distant relative's wedding invitation neccasitated our trip in Jan 2025.

Day 1 on 13 Jan 2025. This time, my brother Chai,my hubby Jason and me flew to Quanzhou.I cannot describe the joy and tears as we reconnected with uncles,aunties and cousins. We were recieved at Jinjiang 晋江 airport by cousin Ming Chun明春. He took us to meet our youngest cousin Ming Gui明贵 who brought us for a lovely lunch in Wudianshi 五店市- a 4A UNESCO heritage site with lovely red bricks warm buildings. Wudianshi was formed by 5 descendants who started 5 restaurants, is now the core of Jinjiang. We also had Starbucks coffee in a very quaint traditional heritage home.

Cousin Ming Chun drove us home to my 6th uncle and aunt's home. We passed by the 66-room house my late dad built with his hard earned money while being super frugal on our Malaysian family. My 4th aunt was at the gate. She blithely crossed the road to greet us. My late grandma and every single uncle,aunt,cousin lived here until 2000. The house is part of 33 Nanyang heritage homes. I was struck at how close everybody in the village were to each other.My cousin blithely wind down car windows and chatted with relatives and neighbours he met otw driving home. What a joy to see my 6th uncle and aunt! They are both the same age as Jason and me. 6th aunt cooked traditional dishes my late dad loved - fresh oysters in a gummy style with peanuts, mee sua, abalone. How happy Dad must be in heaven, looking at us enjoy what he loved. That night, 2nd, 3rd, 5th uncles n aunts and 4th aunt, cousins n friends gather and we chatted of many things. I felt 4th aunt's sorrow as she spoke of 4th uncle unexpected death from a stroke last year. And 3rd aunt had tears as she remembered her son who passed away recently.They are family indeed - our hearts are knitted together!

Day 2 started a sumptious traditional breakfast followed by visiting 6th aunt's vege garden. Giant radishes, Holland peas, cabbages, cauliflower, leeks, spring onions, spinach, carrots etc - she has very green fingers.

Visit to HuaiHua Miđdle School 蕙华中学 in my father's village. It is such an honour to be received and welcomed by the school. During the time my father was in Dong Zhang village, no school existed. So dad had to go faraway from home to study. That made him to understand the emotional pain of students and parents who had to part because schools were too far away from homes. That spurned him to try to start a school in his village.My father was not as rich as many of his villagemen who made it big in Malaysia but his passion and excellent social networking skills made it possible for him and others to organise resources to build this school. The school is flourishing and testament to his passion and desire. I was very happy to see dad and mum's photo in a prominient top left hand corner of a gallery of people who had contributed to start the school and improved it. I also was very happy to see letters and documents carrying father's and my sister Irene's handwriting showcased in the school heritage room. My 6th uncle liased many of my father's efforts to improve the school. Indeed,our dreams and legacy outlive us!

After the school visit, we went to the receiving the bride ceremony 迎接新娘仪式 Yíngjiē xīnniáng yíshì. After a heavy lunch, we visited our grandparents' graves as well as 4th uncle and cousin Ming Hwang memorial place. We visited cousin Ming Yang from 4th uncle 5-storeyed house. We had a lovely walk around the village. It is very clear the village is well taken care. After the wedding dinner, cousins and nieces who came back from Quanzhou and distant places visited us. Many hugs and Wechat exchanges and long chats warm our hearts.

Experiencing ground zero mainland Chinese wedding! The tea ceremony brunch reception has auspicious longan groundnuts red dates lotus 早生贵子” Zǎoshēng guìzǐ ( idiom to wish for speedy birth of grandchildren). A host of luxury cars followed the bridal car.She was recieved with crackers and fireworks at mid-day! All bridal cars had a slab of belly meat hanging from front door handle! The street and multi-storey house is decorated with wedding paraphenialia. Celebrations run for 4 days or more but we ate 2 days of 2 sumptious lunches and 2 dinners. Thrice we ate lobsters, 2x Alaska snow crabs, 4x abalone,whole sharksfin soup x2 etc. My favourite is seafood porridge - simple, home cooked comforting feel with more than 7 ingredients such as scallops, abalone, prawns etc. I ate 3 bowls of that porridge at the 4th dinner. The drinks - ginger tea and sesame soyabean are also very interesting while the wine runs free flow from expensive potent Chinese white wine( 53% alcohol) to brandy and western wines.

Our host arranged 2 nights of beautiful 20- minutes long fireworks display.He had come from a very poor background and his good food times were only during wedding receptions of his neighbours and friends. So he happily splurged on this wedding, remembering the hard times during his childhood. Shortly after we reached home, we found he returned all our angpows. Quanzhou highlights in 6+ hours! Quanzhou is the East terminal of the Maritime Silk Route. Marco Polo sailed from here. Chai enjoyed his first train ride in China and understood the phrase - its like taking a plane. Cousin Ming Gui welcomed us at the train station. He is a pro at being tourist guide! He drove us to the 5A Unesco Heritage Site Qingyuan Mountain park. We took photos with the signature Laozi rock. Instead of doing a strenous hike up, he drove us right up to the peak. Here we had a 20 minute walk and viewed Quanzhou westward and saw sights like West Lake etc. Next was his office near CBD. He parked his car so we could go on a walking tour to best enjoy Quanzhou highlights on cultural tourism. We enjoyed many yummy small snacks 小吃。 1st stop: Beef with rice. The beef restaurant is often crowded that there is a table wedged in a doorway. Ming Gui and Chai sat inside the shop while Jason and me sat outside the shop eating on that same table.Food arrived 5 minutes after ordering! Yummy and beefy!

2nd stop: Very fine textured smooth mee xian noodles in a delicious broth near Zhongshan middle road. We started near the Qingjing mosque - the oldest mosque in China and covered touristy spots - like the roundabout, bell (clock) tower etc.For lovers, Quanzhou have cute romantic avenues with lovers' sweet nothing sayings off Zhongshan Middle Road 中山中路. The broken white bridge illustrates also getting over being heart broken in love with a witty idiom . 有些路是不通就算， 爱情也就一样 Some roads are just not connected, its ok, love is like that.

We emerged at the four loves Presbyterian church. There is a play of words - four loves versus fall in love - illustrated by the 4 heart shapes in the Chinese word love 爱。

3rd stop: A cute coffee and cakes cafe to view the twin pagodas (Song dynasty) Zhenguo and Renshou in the Kaiyuan Temple, the tallest stone pagodas in China. There is a quaint view of old and new city from the cafe.He tapao mochi for us to eat as we walk more avenues We hopped on a tourist bus back to his office. Pro tourist guide Ming Gui highlighted spots to us and answered other tourists questions on the bus ride. He got the car and drove us to the Shaolin temple for the martial arts show. I enjoyed their amazing moves especially those of the cute 4 year old boys. We went shopping n I got 2 pairs of Li-Ning shoes,courtesy Ming Gui pocket. We visited his apartment near the stadium, got Jason's desire - the little wine cups. He drove us back to our village Dongzhang in time for the family dinner at 7 pm. We covered 2/3 of Quanzhou in 8 hours! A pro indeed Each night, the relatives gathered together in 6th Uncle's home to chat with us. We were touched by the many cousins who returned to the village to reconnect with us. The last night of our visit, many cousins,nieces and nephews came to host us for the farewell dinner. Those who could not come back called us to chat.

Now I understand why my late dad always felt so at home in his 家乡.