Orphanage
Mei Lin’s orphanage is said to be very clean and well managed. There
are currently about 140 children taken care of in the orphanage and about 450 in foster care (around 600 children total). It’s hard for us to know for sure if she is in the orphanage or in foster care
since they aren’t always forthcoming with this information, but most children do spend some time in foster care before
adoption.
There are four foster care villages about an hour from the orphanage where families take care of the children in their
own little community. We’ve received some wonderful photos of the area
(An Ning).
Yunnan Province and City of Kunming
Yunnan means "south of the clouds" (Mei Lin's Chinese name happens to mean "rosy
clouds" so they must have something with clouds there). The province is in the southwest corner of China bordered by
Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.
Kunming is the capital city of Yunnan with approximately 3 million people. The
city is situated on a 6,500 foot plateau. Due to its mild climate and beautiful scenery and history, Kunming is a well
known tourist spot for all of China and is known as "Spring City".
There are over two dozen minority groups in the Yunnan province which makes for a variety
of interesting cultures and customs. Because they are a minority, they are allowed more than one child . Each
of these groups continue to carry on their traditions and wear distinct clothing and headwear.
