Orphanage Visit: Beijing

On our adoptions, we visited two out of the three orphanages.  Our first visit was to Jaigxi.  We had the opportunity to visit the orphanage, but we declined.  The reason was that our daughter, who was 10 months old, would have had to go on a two hour bus ride on rural roads.  We did not feel that she should have to take that journey a second time within a day. 

When our next adoption came up, the swine flu was running rampant.  They would not allow us to visit the inside of the orphanage.  They were concerned that outsiders would bring the flu into the orphanage.  They brought the children to our hotel when it was time for us to meet.  We did get to visit the outside of the orphanage.  The orphanage was in a busy area of Beijing, located near a canal.  The building looked like a hospital.  It was surrounded by a wrought iron gate.  They had guards on the gate. They wore protective face masks.