Shamian Island

We had a wonderful shopping trip this morning. Our group went to Shamian Island and I had a great time. Last time we were in GZ we stayed on Shamian Island for a week, so it was very familiar. I loved seeing all the European architecture and the lovely bronze statues again. It is an island so of course there are boats and lovely water views everywhere.

I had lunch at Lucy's, it was so great! The food was really wonderful and it just transported me back to 2011 and Jacob's adoption. I had sweet and sour fish. It might be the best meal I've had since arriving here. Yum, yum.

I found some great things on my shopping excursion. I managed to get some traditional Chinese outfits for Ella. . . 4 to be exact. One for this year and the rest for when she gets older. I also got some t-shirts for the kids. For the boys I got some great craved wooden swords with wooden sheaths. I found this marvelous hand carved chess set for our family with Chinese figures (an emperor & empress instead of king & queen. . . etc.)  I also got some simple thank you gifts for family and friends for taking such good care of our boys while we were gone.

But my favorite purchase of the day was a chop. A chop is a Chinese seal. These seals are so lovely. They can be simple or more ornate. I chose a larger one. It has 5 dragons carved on the handle and scenic images on the side. As well as the symbols for happiness and life. I loved the 5 dragons to hopefully signify the 5 children in our family. The Seal has our family name in English and Chinese. The man who carved the name did it all by hand and I was so impressed with this craftsmanship.

Sometimes I think people tend to think of these little shops as tourist traps with junkie things, (and sure there are plenty of paper fans and cheap fabric t-shirts.) But I also saw some great artists with true talent here too. The wooden swords are also exquisite, lots of detail and artistry. Overall it was great to see some of the jade artworks, paintings, cravings and design. I really enjoyed the morning and hope our family enjoys the little things we picked out for them :)