A Little About Where Dani Is . . .

This past weekend we did the last of our paperwork for our agency and also sent our passports off to a courier to obtain our China Travel Visas. Should have them back in hand by next week. While we are waiting, I thought I would post a little information about the Henan province which is where Dani is.


The name of the province Henan comes from its geographic location. Henan means 'the south of the river', indicating that Henan lies south of China's Yellow River. The province covers an area of over 62,000 square miles. Henan has a humid warm-temperate climate. Dry and windy in winter and spring, the province is hot and rainy in summer and bakes in strong sunlight during the autumn months. Henan province is considered the cradle of Chinese civilization due to its location on the Yellow River. This rich historic heritage has endowed Henan with numerous historic treasures, from primitive dwellings to earliest wheel thrown pottery. The remains of some of the earliest human settlements have been unearthed here, including the over 7000-year-old Peiligang Culture Site, the 6000-year-old Yangshao Culture Remains and the 5000-year-old Dahe Culture Remains. All these cultural remains have profound significance in the history of Chinese civilization.

Kaifeng City was established more than 2700 years ago and today is considered one of the seven ancient capitals of China. Dani was found abandoned at the riverside outside the entrance to Xiaonan in Kaifeng City. I don't know if this is where she was abandoned, but after a bit of Google-ing, I found the photo below which was labeled "the small south gate (XIAONAN) of Kaifeng." The children tend to be abandoned in fairly public places so that they will be found quickly and taken to an orphanage and cared for. Please keep in mind that not all parents abandon their babies because they are girls. Henan, despite the images is a fairly rual province with a very poor population. Not all families can afford the fee China imposes for having a child nor the care a special needs baby will require.



I also learned that the best travel seasons are September and October during which, Kaifeng City welcomes her most beautiful event: the Chrysanthemum Fair. The Chrysanthemum Fair usually persists for one month from the 28th of October, each year. During the Fair colorful and prosperous chrysanthemums are placed in streets and lanes. If you read my earlier posts, you know that Dani was born September 14th and her Chinese name Xin Ju translates to "New Chrysanthemum."