October 19: Fun Day around China Hotel

Today was a free day for us. After a late breakfast we spent some time on the playground with our new friends from Washington State  Paul and Joseph, born in China and back for their little sister. Tess enjoyed walking around the beautiful garden area before joining Lila in the fun. She was not fond of the swing, or the bridge over the pond. The waterfall was a little scary at first, but she realized it was just water which she loves. Both girls took a great nap before heading to Liu Hua Park for a walk and dinner again at Food Street.

Guangzhou is an extremely large (17 million people) cement city with the most beautiful public parks nestled within. This is due to it's history and the events of The Cultural Revolution. The parks are a gathering area for the community. The park was very active with games of badminton, ping pong, "an open air fitness center", paddle boats, small amusement park, and photo shoots, even a  "princess"(bride) who took Lila's photo. This man was exercising his arms when we first walked by and reading the newspaper on our return around the park.

Lori tried joining a few men walking on this rock path, she wasn't sure if it was good for her health: it really hurt.