Transfer day from Nanning to Guilin was off and running with
another early morning raise and shine routine from our oldest who thinks that
getting up before the sun does is funny!
Lets see how that goes once we are back home and school starts back!
For breakfast we decided to change the routine so Savannah
and Aiden tagged along with me down to one of the local bakeries to get some
fresh items to take back to Declan and Mom. Once there is brought back memories of the small pastry shop
that was just beside the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou that we frequented on
many occasions. The buns with small sausages stuffed and baked inside and the
vegetable breads that have the wonderful taste of cold pizza were an instant
hit, and along with the Chinese donuts we created a veritable feast for our
family!
With breakfast out of the way we packed up and shipped out
for our trip to Guilin with Bob around 10:00 am.
Before heading to the bus station, Bob took us to the
Nanning Minority Museum so that we could get a better understanding of how
Chinese Minorities make up a large part of the regions heritage and the
importance it plays still to this day. The new museum was built in 2009, moving
from its pervious home in downtown Nanning. It was very interesting with Bob as
a guide as he is from Guilin and could expound on many of the things in the
displays. The daily lives of the 12 indigenous minorities of China are
recreated in many displays. In China, the vast majority of the people are
descended from the Han. Anyone who is not of Han descent is considered a
minority, and there are several minority groups in China In Guangxi, the
primary minority group is the Zhang, and the province is called "the
autonomous region of the Zhang people." There are other minority groups
from the region as well, though, and the museum represented several different
minority cultures.
The museums contains an extensive drum collection, as well
as artifacts of everyday objects such as textiles, rituals and music from
different minorities, vases and cooking tools, one life-sized display of a
minority home as well as several structures typical of homes of the various
minority groups. Everything is explained in English and Mandarin on plaques
near displays that makes it quite visitor friendly!
Also, if you are not Chinese, be prepared for celebrity
status as the local school children will all want to take a picture with you
and practice their "hellos" and "good mornings"
After leaving the museum we made a quick stop at the former museum
location as there is still an extensive gift shop there where we purchased a
few items for the kids so that they can have some things to remember their heritage
once we return home.
Then it was
on to the bus station!
With a van full of kids and luggage, Bob made it pain free
to navigate the crowded bus terminal.
Once the secured the bags and kids near the bus staging area, we
procured some KFC snacks for the 4 hour ride to Guilin. Surprisingly, the ride was quite
pleasant, but bumpy, and the loud music videos and kung-fu movies they played
on the video system was somewhat overwhelming, but with iPads and other devices
of distraction, we made it quite easily!
Once in Guilin, we made our way from the local bus terminal
to the Sheraton Hotel where the offloaded our luggage and then met some local
friends for a kid friendly dinner at the local McDonalds!
It was so good to see our old friends
and to share great stories as well as show off our newest family addition.
Savannah has ecstatic to have some girl time with our friends daughters as she
has been cooped up with the boys for several days now and adult interaction for
us was a great thing as well!
This morning we are off to see some local attractions before
a lunchtime meeting with some special people in our extended family.
So till then……
Michael (Did you say 4 hour ride?), Ann Marie (Was that Louis
Vitton we just passed?), Savannah (How much longer till we get there?), Aiden
(I like Kung-Fu movies!), and Declan (wǒ è le!)
 |
| Entrance way to the museum |
 |
| My next Halloween costume (just kidding!) Minority ritual costume |
 |
| Way cool..... |
 |
| At the museum gift store |
 |
| Kids were playing nice (for once!) |
 |
| Headed into the Nanning bus station |
 |
| The wheels on the bus go round and round... |
 |
| Fountains at the hotel |
With breakfast out of the way we packed up and shipped out
for our trip to Guilin with Bob around 10:00 am. Before heading to the bus station, Bob took us to the
Nanning Minority Museum so that we could get a better understanding of how
Chinese Minorities make up a large part of the regions heritage and the
importance it plays still to this day. The new museum was built in 2009, moving
from its pervious home in downtown Nanning. It was very interesting with Bob as
a guide as he is from Guilin and could expound on many of the things in the
displays. The daily lives of the 12 indigenous minorities of China are
recreated in many displays. In China, the vast majority of the people are
descended from the Han. Anyone who is not of Han descent is considered a
minority, and there are several minority groups in China In Guangxi, the
primary minority group is the Zhang, and the province is called "the
autonomous region of the Zhang people." There are other minority groups
from the region as well, though, and the museum represented several different
minority cultures.
The museums contains an extensive drum collection, as well
as artifacts of everyday objects such as textiles, rituals and music from
different minorities, vases and cooking tools, one life-sized display of a
minority home as well as several structures typical of homes of the various
minority groups. Everything is explained in English and Mandarin on plaques
near displays that makes it quite visitor friendly! Also, if you are not Chinese, be prepared for celebrity
status as the local school children will all want to take a picture with you
and practice their "hellos" and "good mornings" 
After leaving the museum we made a quick stop at the former museum
location as there is still an extensive gift shop there where we purchased a
few items for the kids so that they can have some things to remember their heritage
once we return home. Then it was
on to the bus station!
Once in Guilin, we made our way from the local bus terminal
to the Sheraton Hotel where the offloaded our luggage and then met some local
friends for a kid friendly dinner at the local McDonalds! It was so good to see our old friends
and to share great stories as well as show off our newest family addition.
Savannah has ecstatic to have some girl time with our friends daughters as she
has been cooped up with the boys for several days now and adult interaction for
us was a great thing as well!
I miss you guys and really can't wait to meet Declan. Aiden and Savannah seem so happy. What memories you guys are making. Just beautiful.
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