Baby Hotels and Shamian Island

The island we are staying on right now in Guangzhou is called Shamian Island.  It is a very beautiful place, but quite unlike the rest of the city.  Quite unlike the rest of China, as far as I've seen.  Once owned by the French and the British, the architecture has an obvious European flare.  There is a central park that runs from one end to the other, filled with ancient Banyan Ficus trees, colorful flowers, and perfectly trimmed bushes. The combination of architecture and flora has turned it into a hot-spot for photography and weddings.  And wedding photography.  (Perhaps a photography wedding thrown in there, too?)  There are several large hotels here for accommodating the weddings and their week-long photography sessions. 

The hotels also have become popular for another reason.  They are known as the "baby hotels"--especially The White Swan and the The Victory hotels.  Because every American adoption in China must pass through the American Consulate, and the American Consulate used to be adjacent to the White Swan (though it has since been moved), the hotel became the traditional place for Americans to stay during this part of the paperwork.


I took a walk today around Shamian island, and everywhere you look there are, a.) Chinese people spending a leisurely Sunday afternoon, b.) Americans toting Chinese babies, c.) photographers, and d.) brides and grooms being photographed.

Part of the central park.

The Pearl river flows between the island and the mainland.  It's the third largest river in China and very dirty.  I saw people fishing along here.  If I thought they would understand me, I wanted to ask if they were doing it for, "food or fun?"

Our hotel, The Guangdong Victory Hotel.

Our window looks down on this restaurant.  They have an above ground pool full of giant black fish and turtles.  They make lots of noise in the morning.