It was not the first dynasty, but was the first to control so much land to be called Emperor. He believed that by burying all of his soldiers with him he could control them in the afterlife. An advisor convinced him that the soldiers would revolt against him and he would lose control if he insisted on his plan, but that he could make statues with the faces of each of the soldiers and they would still protect him in the afterlife. The Chinese consider this the 8th Wonder of the World. I'm not sure if it carries the same recognition around the globe, but it was fascinating. 
This is Jeff and Gwen writing this time. Laura and Wu Ning are upstairs taking a nap. As Laura already wrote, we got Wu Ning on Sunday night. She was not as excited to meet us as we were to meet her... I'll just leave it at that. She is amazingly resilient. She has bonded well with us and is trusting us more and more each day.
On Monday, we went back to the civil service office to answer questions, swear to take care of Wu Ning, and pay various fees and give presents to the offanage workers and the notary. We also gave a donation to the orphanage that, in Chinese currency, was a stack about 4 inches tall! Wu Ning was very nervous and holding on to Laura for dear life, but she didn't cry.
On Tuesday, we went to see the hospital where Wu Ning was found and taken care of in her first few days before being placed in an orphanage. By coincidence our guide was born in the same hospital and grew up in the neighborhood around the hospital. Evidently it is very unusual to see the place where your child was found and only possible because of our good luck and the unbelievable coincidence that our guide was born in the same hospital.
Here we are at the front gate to the hospital where Wu Ning w
as found.
The hospital was in a small town (although I never saw where the city of Xian ended and small towns started) about an hour and fifteen minutes from our hotel. We had to take two cabs, so Sherry (our guide) and Doleres were in the lead cab and Laura, Gwen, Wu Ning and me were in the second cab. A little bit about Chinese drivers--they are insane! You haven't truly experienced fear for your life until you've ridden in a cab in China. The lane lines are just suggestions, no one obeys the traffic signals, bikes, motorbikes, pedestrians, cars and trucks all share the road and every intersection is a complete free-for-all with near collisions at every turn. Couple this with trying to follow a lead cab, 100 degree+ temperature, a ride that lasted over an hour, and a child who has trouble with getting car sick (Gwen) and you are asking for a disaster. To Gwen's credit she hung in there until the end of the ride, turning green early on. She made it to our destination, scrambled out of the car and threw up her little guts on the nearest tree.
Gwen seemed to rally, so we took pictures in front of the hospital and then walked into a beat up old courtyard and into the hospital. (another photo of hospital) It was very old and very small with what looked like about 4 or 5 rooms on the first floor. It reminded me of what a hospital might look like in World War I. 
All in all it was a pretty solemn and sad experience yet moving and I think important to understand Wu Ning's history.
It was so hot that Gwen started to turn pale again. Again, by great chance, Sherry grew up in this neighborhood and her mom still lives there and is a pharmacist! You can't make this stuff up. The pharmacy where she works was about three blocks away. We met Sherry's mom and she gave us some pills to treat motion sickness. Gwen took a half of a pill and then we walked further down the street to find a respite from the heat. The hospitality in China is so amazing. Some people that Sherry had never met insisted that we come into their store to relax and brought us chairs and Gwen a small chase lounge to recline in and recover. They brought us some fruit which Wu Ning devoured while Gwen recovered. We were there for about 30 minutes and then Gwen recovered enough to brave the cab ride back to our hotel. The medicine and the kind people did the trick and we all survived without incident.
More to come,
Jeff and Gwen
Hello everyone. This will cover the last few days - we've had Rebecca about 48 hours now.
We were a bit nervous when it actually came time to get her and our coordinator picked us up from the hotel and took us to the Civil Affairs Office. It has been moved to the Science and Technology Museum which was a bit worse for wear. Three other couples (three people had degrees from Webster University!) were also there from another agency and we sat in the lobby until it was time to go upstairs. Gwen was getting excited but a bit nervous as well. We came upstairs and about 10 minutes later the children were brought into the office. As soon as Rebecca saw us she had a complete meltdown and was holding onto the doorframe and the nanny for dear life. She is as cute as can be and looks smaller and younger than the last picture we had. She had wafers and a half eaten cookie in her hand which she held onto the first few hours. She also had a little dog Gwen had picked out for her in the package we were allowed to mail and we were told it was a favorite toy. The only other possessions she came with were a nightgown and some kind of jacket, trucks and a little stuffed toy that she had a in plastic bag.
She would not let go of the nanny and they finally had to pull her off the nanny and make her sit on my lap. Then it was time to leave the office and get her passport picture taken and a family registration picture. She screamed the entire time and was inconsolable. We were quite a sight as I held this little Chinese girl screaming along with a little red head and were causing a lot of attention. We got back to the hotel and she cried a bit longer and then finally did nothing. Gwen did a great job during this whole time and started getting toys 
out. She eventually turned around and then was VERY active for a while. We were able to go out to dinner and she had a great time and ate a ton.
She had to go back to the office the next day and got very upset when she saw the coordinator. She eventually calmed down and we were able to finish that day's paperwork. She finally put on a new shirt today but had a lot of tears - still the same shorts she had on when we picked her up
and no bath yet. If you show her clothes she folds them up as neatly as a gap employee and then puts them away. Apparently in the countryside children don't change as often and baths are more of a sponge bath so we will have to take it slowly. She still gets upset easily and likes to throw something or grab something to test us. She is intrigued with what we brought with us and I don't think she was familiar with a western toilet - she did use the toilet paper to wrap up dominoes and put them in a drawer! 
She is referring to us as mama and baba and says some version of Gwen. She had a picture book about us before we got her and it was obvious she had gone through it before.
Although she will probably have an initial harder adjustment it was good she was in a foster home here versus the orphanage- apparently not the usual situation. She has lived on a farm with a family that had two older biological boys and we get the impression she got a lot of attention and has gone to some level of preschool. The foster mother requested our email address so she could check in on Rebecca when we get back so I hope we will hear from her. 
She is bright and curious and I think she will catch on quickly to English. Chinese is not easy and the coordinator has a hard time understanding her it seems. We know a little Chinese but it is a tonal language and pronunciation is very important - for instance baba can mean daddy or "to poop" depending on the tone of your voice!
So all is well and we'll post more later! (Sorry but spell check won't work.) Laura
We have also seen some of the worst bathrooms in the world - Gwen doesn't like to go to the bathroom anywhere but an eastern toilet was the final straw for her!
Gwen is still a star here and enjoying her fame. Her picture is regularly taken in the restaurants, hotel and when we are sightseeing. She will have a hard time going back to a life of anonymity!
She later told us that was her last day not to have to be a big sister and behave. We'll see if that dramatically changes tomorrow! Laura
The flights all took about 27 hours so we were wiped out when we finally arrived. Got into Beijing and went to bed the first night but everyone's schedules are off.
Have done some sightseeing and Gwen proved to be her own attraction to people - she has been petted, hugged and had her picture taken with the locals. 
Apparently red hair is a bit exotic here. When she put on our Chinese headband, she had a crowd of people around her at the park.
We've gotten no more details yet about our meeting - I guess we'll find out soon!
Laura
