On the evening of Jul 1, 100 members from the 29 adoptive families converged by Great Wall China Adoption attended the welcome ceremony of 2014’s Heritage Tour of Chinese Adoptees, which was hosted by BLAS at the banquet hall of the Radisson BLU Hotel Beijing and attended by Mr. Li Bo, director of the China Center for Children’s Welfare and Adoption and BLAS, who delivered a speech.

In his speech, Mr. Li Bo briefly introduced the functions and duties of the Center as well as the carrying out of the Chinese foreign adoption working. He explained that it was so amazing and gratifying to see the children being so lovely and cheerful. And the earnest expectations were that they could all flourish in America, live up to love and care about their parents, siblings and friends, commit the parent’s nurturing and their birth country---China to mind, and grow into a useful man and achieve their own values in the society. At the same time, he thanked the adoptive parents for their thoughtful care and education for the children. Soon after, Mr. Li Bo presented gifts, the toy pandas to the adopted children, hoping that during this short journey in China, they could learn more about China, understand China, love China and contribute to the friendship between our two peoples.

At the ceremony, the representatives of the adoptive families and the adopted children both came onto the stage, sharing their feelings and thoughts for the participation. Mrs. Bonnie Straka, a mother of six, with two biological and four Chinese adopted, expressed her genuine gratitude for the Chinese government for enabling her to adopt these four kids, who made them a complete family. She said, “thank you for taking so great care of them before we came. What you did means too much for their healthy development in the future. And thank you for organizing such a remarkable tour, which connects the children and China---their country of birth even more closely.” Juliet Bost, a 14 year-old girl, with a Chinese name Fu Dehuan, who was adopted by an American family from the Children’s Welfare Institution of Fuling District of Chongqing City in 2001, told us that she was leading a happy life in America with excellent academic performances and lots of hobbies and interests. She has been eager to experience the real China for herself and believes that this tour would be the path to learn more about the Chinese culture and she would find the Chinese embedment in herself here.  

At the ceremony, the adopted children demonstrated their joys in songs for attending this tour. The chorused song “Let it go”, was heavily applauded by the whole audience. At table, Mr. Li Bo also had amiable talks with some of the families, asking for details of the children’s life and study in America and took photos with them respectively.

The heritage tour will start in Beijing and then Xi’an, Chengdu and Guilin, after which they will split up for the orphanages in different regions where their adopted children have ever live.

Mrs. Bonnie Straka, an adoptive mother, was speaking at the ceremony.

 The ceremony on-site.