XIN NEIN KUAI LE!

Best wishes to out to everyone who is celebrating 4075, the Year of the Rat. May the Chinese New Year bring continued happiness, good health and propserity to all!

Gung hay fat choy!

Ningdu 286 A.D.

One need not be a student of history to appreciate the long, rich heritage that Chinese enjoy. Ningdu is a part of that history, and a portion of the Ganzhou site shares with readers some of that history. It's interesting to note the dates to get a sense of the long history where little has seemingly changed in the rural areas:

"In the first year of Han Gaozu, the south of it belonged to Chu. After three years, it was renamed Huainan Country. It’s 202 B.C. when Gannan began to belong to Han. In the sixth year, it was named Yuzhang County and had eighteen counties, three of which belonged to Gannan, they were Nanmao County, Gan County and Yudu County which the latter two were new set. In the end of West Han, Yuzhang was renamed Jiujiang while in 25 A.D. the name returned and Nanmao was renamed Nanye. In 194 A.D., it was named Luling County. 　　

In 236 A.D., Luling County, which was belonged to Yanzhou, governed Yudu. It led Yudu, Gan county, Pingyang, Yangdu, Jieyang, Nan’an, Nanye and Gannan became the administrative institution then.

In the first year of Taikang, Jin Dynasty, Nan’an was renamed Nankang, Yangdu was renamed Ningdu. Two years later, Luling changed to Nankang and governed Yudu. In 284 A.D., Jieyang was renamed Poyang."

Mailing Label for Ningdu

Ning Surname To Possibly Change

March 27, 2007. China Rethinks Orphan Names.

Chinese officials have been following the practice of giving children living in orphanages made up surnames. These names have ranged from party political choices such as "Dang" meaning "party," and "Guo" meaning "state" or in some areas, taking a syllable from the district in which the child was found, such as "You" from Youxian County (Hunan) or "Ning" from Ningdu County (Jiangxi). For children adopted abroad, these choices had little practical ramification because they receive the surname of their adoptive parents. However, for children remaining in China, these unusual surnames mean a lifetime of being labeled as growing up in an orphanage. For that reason several areas in China are dropping this practice and returning to more traditional surnames.




(Source: www.adopting.com)

Congratulations!

Referrals from Ningdu have recently been received, and so it's time to say, Congratulations!!!

To those who are preparing for their trip to Nanchang to receive their children, best wishes for a safe and most memorable journey.

If you wish to post on Our Ningdu Kids, simply ask to be included as an author, and you will have access to post and upload photos.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Good luck and God bless.

Finding Siblings

We are convinced, absolutely convinced, that our daughter has a sibling in China. There is no way to verify or validate that claim; it's just a feeling that grows stronger every day. With a one child policy that continues to challenge families throughout China, it would stand to reason that our daughter either has a sister, who may or may not be living under the China sky, or a brother, who most certainly enjoys the love and adoration of her parents.

If, we reasoned, she has a sister, then it is likely that little girl may have followed the same path. That sister could be younger, or she could be older. Our interest was persistent and eventually we learned of a small group of adoptive parents who received their children from orphanages throughout the Jiangxi Province. To some, even considering the possibility of a sibling for their child might be a bridge not worth crossing. For us, its a path we wish to travel, even if that journey results in uncertainty.

Ningdu parents who are interested in knowing more, can contact Jiangxi Sibling Find. "This group is for parents of children adopted from Jiangxi. It was created for the possibility of finding sibling matches for children adopted from Jiangxi Province, PRC."

Interested parents contact JiangxiSibFind@yahoo.com.

Yuqing Steps Out With Caretakers

The journey for our daughter began in July 2003 and culminated on September 27, 2004 in Nanchang when we received 10 month old, Yuqing. We were extremely fortunate to have received the 2 disposable cameras that were sent months earlier to Ningdu as part of our daughter's care package. The cameras caught images of other children who were only months older or younger than Yuqing. Seeing her laying awake in her crib, with the referral picture (that we would later receive) tacked on the wall directly above, was a memory in time that we would cherish. So many pictures, so priceless, and I'll share some of these in future posts. Seen here, Yuqing is joined by her two primary caretakers in August 2004.