We’ve had a good, last day in Zhengzhou, although we’re a little worried about Hana because she hasn’t felt the best and has a fever. She’s doing better tonight. Also, Zeke, since we got him on Friday, has had a really tight cough and upper respiratory congestion, but it started breaking up on Tuesday, got pretty bad sounding Wednesday, and seems on the upswing today.
After breakfast, we went shopping and re-visited a couple of stores that caught our eyes a few days ago. We ended up making our first purchases. This province is known for it’s silk and we purchased a silk landscape as well as a silk lake scene. We thought both were very nice. The kids also each picked out a jade necklace and they’ve been wearing them ever since.
We didn’t stay out long because Hana really didn’t feel well and she and Zeke needed to go back to the room for lunch and a nap. Also, it was not very pleasant outside because the city was filled with smoke. Our understanding is that the farmers, just outside of town, who farm corn, burn the fields at night after dark since it’s actually against the law to do such a thing because of the smoke generated. On our drive yesterday north, we passed thousands of acres of corn fields and, given the smoke in the city, one can only wonder how farmers can possibly hide the widespread burning. We were told it got so bad last year that the airport had to be closed because of lack of visibility. Needless to say, Joe is once again coughing and definitely in need of his nebulizer – which, luckily we have on this trip. The pollution is terrible in Zhengzhou.
After naps, we started packing and then went to McDonalds for dinner – our first time here in China since we’ve mostly been eating at the local hangouts. Zeke thoroughly enjoyed his happy meal, but Hana ate very little. It was a nice break, though, from what we’ve been eating three times a day. We’ve finished packing now and are just relaxing until bedtime.
We leave the hotel tomorrow morning at 8:30 am and our flight is at 10:45. It should take about two hours to get to Guangzhou and then we’ll get settled at the White Swan. Our first stop will be Jennifer’s to get our laundry done. They did a great job the last time we were in Guangzhou and we are in need of clean clothes after nine days of traveling.
Thanks again for all the prayers and support. We all sure appreciate it. Next post: Guangzhou, China.
