Today was beautiful, sunny and 8 degrees so we were thrilled to spend the time outdoors. Although we all chose to spend our day outdoors in different ways.
Simon and Max spent the afternoon with two new friends their age that go to an International School here in Shenyang. We all went to lunch at the University. Chinese Food of course!
Tim and Alan went walking along the street where computers and accessories are sold. They saw street sights such as these chefs at one restaurant who came to the parking lot to rotate their Bai Cai (Chinese Cabbage). This is the season to harvest Bai Cai and prepare it for winter storage. The first step is to dry it in the open air. Bai Cai can be seen everywhere -- on streets, parking lots, window ledges.
Lisa and Tricia walked all afternoon in the Nan Hu Park. The park is relaxing in places but is also full of fun and activity.
There is a greenhouse with local plants. Orchids are readily available and reasonably priced.
There is also an amusement park with a variety of rides, cotton candy, and a Ferris Wheel that is 20 stories high!
And there are two areas of the park where we found something totally unexpected! First, is a monument to children where people gather to share the details about their own children.... in the hopes that they will find the perfect match! It is a matchmaking monument! Parents show up every week with papers such as this one. It describes a young man, born in 1980 that is 1.83 metres tall. He speaks English, is healthy, and more details can be received by calling the phone number.
The second part of the park that held surprise was a monument where many activities were happening. This man was writing poetry in water calligraphy and it faded as it evaporated. It was beautiful and peaceful to watch. But there were also people playing cards, flying kites, square dancing, playing hacky-sack. The beautiful thing is that these were older people -- not the young that you might expect to find in the park.
We all joined up at the end of the afternoon to share our experiences and surprises!
Today we explored the Benxi Water Cave south of Shenyang. It is a beautiful park that contains a 2.2 km underground river. We traveled on a boat through the cave, deep into caverns measuring as high as 37 meters. We saw magnificent stalagmites and stalactites.
Today some of our activities reminded us of the Kung Fu Panda, an epic movie! First we visited the Imperial Palace. Shenyang is the birthplace of the Qing Dynasty. The Palace was the home of the Chinese Emperor in the early 1600s. Later a Palace was built in Beijing and these are the only two ancient Chinese Palaces still standing. The carvings and paintings in the Imperial Palace are beautiful and remarkably well kept for being 400 years old. 
As we wandered the 60,000 square meter grounds, we were once again the only white people to be visiting the Palace today. The boys were more aware of people looking at us and smiling or whispering. And we were all surprised when one Chinese family wanted their picture taken with us. Tricia says this is a common request for visitors.
And there are two areas of the park where we found something totally unexpected! First, is a monument to children where people gather to share the details about their own children.... in the hopes that they will find the perfect match! It is a matchmaking monument! Parents show up every week with papers such as this one. It describes a young man, born in 1980 that is 1.83 metres tall. He speaks English, is healthy, and more details can be received by calling the phone number.
The second part of the park that held surprise was a monument where many activities were happening. This man was writing poetry in water calligraphy and it faded as it evaporated. It was beautiful and peaceful to watch. But there were also people playing cards, flying kites, square dancing, playing hacky-sack. The beautiful thing is that these were older people -- not the young that you might expect to find in the park.
Although Lisa, Max and Simon do not like for Tim to be away, they do look forward to his return with presents! This time Tim was loaded down with leather purses and earrings for Lisa, a "Ripstick" (a skateboard with only two wheels) for Simon, and new bass guitar and amp for Max.
