For the second time this year, we were so lucky to have family come and visit us here in China. Mark’s parents made their 2nd trip to China, and his sister Sharon and her two girls made their first trip. They all stayed at the hotel on campus and Mark got them from the airport this time.
We wanted to give them a bigger sample of China (last time his parents stayed in Haining the whole visit) so we took them into Shanghai and Mark took Sharon and the girls to Wuzhen.
While everyone was together in Haining, we took them to our favorite restaurant and the surprise for me was that my favorite dish was one of everyone’s favorites, a spicy cucumber salad. They also enjoyed dumplings and eggplant stuffed with pork and then fried.
There was an excursion to the water town area of Haining, Nanguanxiang, so they could go to our tea shop and see some local culture. Unfortunately that was during the big remodel and moving, so the shop was closed and no tea was had, but Mark’s Mom and Dad got to watch Alex rocking his Chinese with the locals and what a regular day for him is like being a little famous in our town.
What trip to Haining would be complete without a trip to the mall? Our two teenage nieces loved UniQlo, a Japanese chain that is very popular here in China- I think they may have some in the US as well. The clothes are cute and well made.
This group just leaned into everything, my oldest niece Kimberly drove one of our ebikes, and so did Sharon (with Jillian the youngest as a passenger, that’s not easy for a new rider), and even Bob took a ride around campus on the ebike. Mark rode with Alex and he lead an expedition to the pagoda in town, which is a ebike ride and small hike away. I wasn’t there… but I’ve been told by two reliable sources (Alex and Jillian) that the coldest drink they’ve ever had was sold at the top of the hill next to the pagoda- which is a valuable thing to know on a hot and humid June afternoon.
We decided to split the group up as there were different interests, so Mark took Sharon and the girls to Wuzhen for a night while I stayed in Haining with Pat and Bob.
We took a bullet train into Shanghai because it was on Bob’s china bucket list, and quite frankly I think it’s the easiest way to move this many people across our area.
We had to break up into groups because those were the only tickets available. Alex’s, Jillian’s and my tickets didn’t have seat numbers on them, and we asked a guard what that meant, and he said just sit wherever, so we did. Those seats belonged to someone else, and we had to stand for the trip. Next time I will ask when we buy the tickets.
We took the Butala clan to our favorite Indian Restaurant (Lotus Land) in our favorite unique part of town- Tian zi Fang. Everyone enjoyed picking out souvenirs for themselves and friends back at home. And I think everyone really enjoyed the dinner. It wasn’t too much walking, but enough that you could get a feel for the neighborhood and market.
Our nieces had never been to Disney, so we planned a day to take them to Shanghai Disney. Mark is not a Disney person, so he hung out with his parents while Alex and I went to Disney again.
Without meaning to, we ended up going on the busiest day, they had just started some summer program and the announcers were saying if you hadn’t already bought a ticket you wouldn’t be allowed in. So everything was incredibly busy, slinky dog had an hour long wait, and it was extremely hot. But everyone was still smiling!
Waiting for the Tron ride. I don’t ride Tron, so I was down at the rave for children in Tomorrowland, eating a dole whip cone while they waited 2 hours for the ride.
The three cousins in front of the castle, I think a good time was had by all.
Mark took his parents to one of our favorite noodle places in Shanghai, and while they were a little dubious at first, I think they really enjoyed it.
The next day we had rain the whole day (at least it didn’t rain at Disney), so we took them to Yu Yuan Gardens, again there was more souvenir shopping, but also covered places to sit. We split off into different groups to explore in the time we had left before they closed. We actually ended up closing them down and getting gently kicked out.
Many of you have heard me talk about Mark and Alex (but mostly Mark) and their ability to find and befriend stray cats the world over. This is one of several cat friends that Mark made on this trip…. and he even got his pants all wet so he could sit and make friends with the cat.
Overall, we had a great visit with our family, and I genuinely hope they did too. They were adventurous, and despite being tired, just kept trucking along.
I think I may have more pictures to add, I will add them if I find them.
Traveling Expat Family 