Lanzhou Sightseeing...

We went to the Five Springs Mountain Park this morning. Here's some history I found at this web site: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/gansu/lanzhou/5_spring.htm

"There are always legends and stories behind beautiful scenic spots in China. Five Springs Park is no exception. In the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.- 24 A.D.), a famous general, Huo Qubing, was dispatched by the Emperor to go on a punitive expedition to the Hun people, a minority group who lived in the northwestern part of China at that time. Since the troops had traveled from Chang'an (now Xian ), General Huo and his soldiers were exhausted when they arrived at the foot of Gaolan Mountain. They couldn't find any water nearby, so General Huo forcefully jabbed his horsewhip five times into the ground. Abruptly five springs spurted water into the air. Thereafter the locals called the mountain the Five Springs Mountain. While this story sounds surreal, the quality and the quantity of the five springs are true. They have flowed and served the locals for several thousand years. In 1955, it was officially opened as a park. Local authorities added a zoo, an amusement park for adults and another for children."

The zoo at the Five Springs Mountain has pandas and Sophie was ecstatic about seeing them. As we entered the zoo, she was trying to run, but she was so bundled she only tumbled to the ground...laughing. The zoo isn't very big and the animals are mostly kept in cages with fences, only the pandas had some type of true to life environment. The conditions were better than I was expecting, and I guess they aren't unlike our zoos, we just make ours prettier.

There were monks walking about and people were making offerings to the booda like fruit, vegetables, they were burning insense. According to Steed the strong smell reaches the Gods. Steed has his education in history and boy does he have it down. He is very informative and is very interesting to listen to. After the zoo we went to a little joint in a very small alley. He wanted to host me and take me to get Lanzhou beef and noodles...well eating noodles and beef in broth(a very spicey broth) was like starving to death with chop sticks. Everyone in the place was staring at me...ha!

The guides that we have had, Christina and Steed, have been absolutely wonderful. They are willing to help me in any way and they love the children a lot. We are very blessed to have them with us throughout this process.Sophie is the hit of the hotel...everyone speaks to her when we are walking around, here is one with the door man.

Sophie threw another fit--please pray for us and her. She is almost like a newborn infant in this regard. Unlike the local businesses, the orphanages are generally understaffed and we don't know how much attention she received and if she only received it by throwing these fits. I fed her grilled cheese, she also loves diet coke with lemon....caffine free. She wanted to be held for a while and then she laid down. She pops her head up every now and then to make sure I am still here. I will always be here...

Some pretty exciting news evidently Sophie's palate was repaired in November, this is wonderful! There will still need to be some revisions over the years, but this makes it easier for her to speak and eat. This is a great blessing!

Thank you all for your prayers and kind words, I couldn't have made it through my time here without hearing from you and recieving your support. Lanshou is a lonely city for someone who doesn't speak the language.