One week and one day to go!!!!

The departure day for our 5.5 week China adventure is rapidly approaching! There is still a lot to do to get ready but thankfully, since we'll be celebrating Christmas tomorrow (December 13) we'll have all of the shopping and wrapping for that out of the way and can begin to figure out how we're going to fit everything into our suitcases! It's not like we'll be taking a lot, just that since we'll be experiencing a range of temperatures from +24 to -30 or so degrees Celsius, we're going to need sufficient clothing to keep us warm plus a couple of t-shirts and a bathing suit as well. In addition to our individual suitcases we have a large bag of clothing and gifts for two orphanages and for friends. It will be a relief once we divest oursevles of this extra load!

Where are we going? Well, our trip begins in Hong Kong where the kids are all excited about visiting Hong Kong Disneyland. Then we go west to Nanning in Guangxi province, where our daughter Jade is from. Following this we head north and visit Chengdu and the panda reserve, Xian for the terracotta warriors, Beijing where we'll spend 10 days or so doing a whole range of things, Harbin in the northeast of China for the ice sculpture festival and finally Shanghai. It is definitely going to be a trip to remember. Depending on time and internet connections I hope to keep this blog up fairly regularly and also to add photos.

So, sit back, relax and come with us on our winter trip to China!