Front Row Seat - Clash At The Garden

Since we arrived in Guangzhou, we have noticed a police presence milling around the hotel and on the streets. Finally someone asked and we learned that the Japanese Embassy is housed in our hotel complex. Some Chinese are unhappy about Japan's acquisition of the Diaoyu islands.

We found out that there would probably be a protest on Sunday when people were off work. Saturday night, the police were lining the streets and putting up metal barricades.

It is a mass of humanity here in China and with so many people going somewhere, nowhere, and everywhere, even we foreigners feel like we blend in as long as we keep moving. A group of us went out to dinner and in spite of the activity, we never felt unsafe.

Sunday morning, we looked out our window at the back of the hotel to see police everywhere. We went down to breakfast as usual and got ready to go to Christ Church on Shamian Island where they have an English translation service. By 10:10, when we went down to catch a taxi, the front of the hotel had been closed off and the protest was amassing in front of the hotel.

We climbed through a barricade on the side of the hotel and walked to the overpass to grab a taxi.

There only seemd to be a small crowd of protesters and other than the inconvenience of hailing a taxi, the environment seemed peaceable.

Because of the traffic and the cab issue, we were a little late to the service. The ushers found us a seat and we enjoyed listening to God's word spoken in Chinese and English. Many people came and went in the back. Curious maybe?

We strolled around Shamian Island and found the statues where we had taken pictures with Joshua.

We went to the Victory Hotel to grab a cab and after waiting quite a while, we got in a cab without a meter. Oops. He told us 40 yuan for less than a two mile trip. I knew we weren't far and we were being taken but oh well. Then he pulled over and told us to wait in the running car while he went to the bathroom. That was bizarre. Thankfully he returned and we continued on to the end of the block which was our destination.

After our shopping, we again had trouble getting a cab. Some random guy in a van tried to engage us and we waved him on. Another cab driver looked at our hotel card and said no. Finally a nice guy who spoke a teeny bit of English took us back towards our hotel.

As we got closer, more and more roads were closed and finally the cab stopped and the driver apologized profusely for not being able to get us closer. We got out, walked about five blocks, and managed to get through the police barricade by being pushy and showing our room key.

Quite a few people were congregating at 4:00 pm.

We estimated that protesters numbered in the hundreds and police were in force by thousands.

Apparently while we were gone during the day, the event escalated when they broke through the police line and got into the lobby of our hotel. Windows were smashed and sculptures destroyed. At one point they shut down the elevators and sent everyone to their rooms. We came back a few hours after that happened.

Ten deep and no weapons that we could see.

There was a show of force across the front of the hotel. We went down to the pool on the fourth floor to get a good view and to hear the chanting, yelling, and speakers. It was loud because the sound was bouncing off the tall buildings all around us.

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Army, riot police, regular gendarmes, many were defending and protecting.

Bob bravely went back downstairs to take a few pictures. All for the blog, right honey?

While he was there, the blue shirts went marching out.

Bob later went out for fast food because we couldn't bear the thought of paying forty bucks for some rice from room service. He found a place where police were letting people in and out. As he was coming back, the protesters were marching back around the block and he crossed the street in front of them. He said the energy on the street was palpable.

Quite an experience. We never felt unsafe but a little unsettled. It would have been great fun to go on the other side of the street to observe but it wasn't the place for Joy to be. Today we asked our guide if she would move us if it wasn't safe and she said the hotel already had alternative plans for their guests if anything got out of hand. That was reassuring and we carry on with our US Consulate Appointment tomorrow to finalize Joy's adoption and Visa application on the US side.

Hip, hip, hooray! We have a new daughter AND a good story to tell.

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