Up at 4 am to prepare for our 5:30 am ride to the airport, marking the beginning of our journey back to Seattle. Our hosts, Dean and Associate Dean, arrived on time with a breakfast bag for us to take along, and we proceeded to the airport. The sun was just rising, presenting a stunning orange ball in the sky, and these photos unfortunately fail to capture its beauty! Last night, we had our final dinner with our hosts from Ningxia Medical University School of Nursing at a nearby restaurant, making it easy to return early and finish packing. I would be remiss not to share some photos of the incredible Chinese cuisine we've enjoyed throughout our stay! Our flight from Yinchuan to Shanghai lasted about 2 ½ hours, and we landed smoothly. Walking from Terminal 2 (domestic flights) to Terminal 1 allowed us to rack up quite a few steps, followed by almost an hour of waiting in line to get through Chinese Immigration. We finally reached the Delta VIP lounge, where we've settled in and are savoring our first glass of wine in 11 days. It may not be the best white wine, but it is nonetheless comforting! Our final leg home departs Shanghai at 5:30 pm (China time) or 3:30 am (PST), with an expected arrival in Seattle around 1:30 pm PST, assuming everything goes smoothly. Lastly, here are two final photos of Yinchuan from our hotel suite. Yinchuan is considered a "small city" in northwestern China, boasting a population of only 2 million! Relatively speaking, that’s quite "small"! This trip has been truly wonderful, and our hosts at every location have been exceptionally gracious. We hesitated to comment on items we saw in stores, knowing that if our hosts overheard us, they would want to buy them for us! I even received a small hand-held "Panda fan" at Panda Park early in our journey. We also had the pleasure of engaging with many graduate student hosts during day trips, including 5-6 nursing students here in Yinchuan. We even gained a Chinese "adopted daughter," Hang, who is an MD psychiatrist in Chengdu and is completing her PhD there with Xian Dong Tang, our formal host and a close friend of Michael. As we get ready to leave the People's Republic of China, I feel incredibly thankful for the warmth and generosity of all the people we've met. This experience has reinforced my belief that, despite our governmental and political differences, we are not so different after all. Our Chinese friends continue to express their hopes for improved relations between our two countries, with many of them eager to study in the U.S. We have also been greatly impressed by the advancements in Chinese technology and infrastructure, which seem to be surpassing those in the U.S. in significant ways.
Woke up early at 4 am to prepare for our 5:30 am ride to the airport for the first part of our trip back to Seattle. Our hosts, Dean and the Associate Dean, met us right on time at 5:30 am with a breakfast bag for us to take, and we headed to the airport. The sun was just rising, appearing as a magnificent orange sphere in the sky, and these photos unfortunately don't capture its beauty!
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