16
Location: Taiyuan, Dong'ergou, and Beijing
Our day began promptly at 8:30. A few of us had dumplings for breakfast, and then we loaded onto the bus. Our first stop of the day was a mausoleum. We stopped there in the morning to drop off the ashes of babies that Little Flower, unfortunately, couldn’t save, but could only love and care for until they passed. Everyone took a moment of silence for the children and then returned to the bus. We then arrived at Dong Er Gou. Shanxi, the province that Dong Er Gou is located, is one of the most Catholic provinces in China. There were a collection of interesting sites to see. Some of the sights we saw were a traditional Chinese Catholic church, the home of Maria Assunta and a beautiful garden. Then we hiked up a big hill and saw a very interesting church that was made in a traditional Chinese style. It was a beautiful sight with spectacular art. After everyone hiked down, we had lunch at the base of the big hill. Lunch ended, and we got onto the bus. Now we all thought we were in for an eight to nine-hour bus ride. Quite the ride, but we were far too optimistic. We hit not one, not two, but three terrible traffic jams. We finally made it back to Beijing after a grueling 11 hour trip a bit too far outside our comfort zone. Stay tuned to our China travel blog to read more about our adventures.