09th
10th
11th
12th
13th
14th 
15th 16th
17th 
18th 19th 20th
21st
China Itinerary 

July 7th–21st

Traveling DayChina Eastern Airlines MU586
Leg 1: LAX–Shanghai
Depart: 12:30pm 7/7 (local time)
Arrive: 5:15p 7/8 (local time)5h45m Layover
Leg 2: Shanghai–Jinan
China Eastern Airlines MU5533
Depart: 11p
Arrive: 12:40a

Date: July 9thLocation: Jinan


Jinan is the capital of the province of Shandong in East China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is one of the largest cities in Shandong in terms of population. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of the region from the earliest beginnings of civilization and has evolved into a major national administrative, economic, and transportation hub. The city has held sub-provincial administrative status since 1994. Jinan is often called the "City of Springs" for its famous 72 artesian springs.


Our first dayOur first day in China will be pretty relaxed as we aclimate to the time change. The most important things are that we get a phone for you (the folks) and teach you how to utilize the tech. This is something that you shouldn’t really need to do, but helpful in case of emergencies. Shuwen and I will also activate our folks and we will simply enjoy some food as we wander the city.

Details
Hotel:


Date: July 10thLocation: Jinan

Day 2: Tutorials
On this day we’ll be acclimating ourselves to the city—probably we’ll all naturally get up pretty early because of the jet lag. No big plans for today other than getting you (the folks) a phone and giving you some small tutorials on WeChat, the app that will be used for everything. 
Date: July 11thLocation: Jinan
Day 3: Big Dinner
Today is the Big Family Dinner where we will have a meeting of the families. This is something I already experienced and it’s quite nice. The meal takes place in a separate room with a large, round table in the center where we all will sit and food will be placed on the motorized, rotating center. Grab food at your leasure. 


The room from our last trip





Date: July 12thLocation: Jinan
Day 4: Family Photo & Friends Dinner
We’ve been slowly easing into the trip and indeed the Jinan leg of this traveling journey is intentionally slower. Partially because of the jet lag and partially because it is a sleepy little city, despite its population. Today, however, we will be having a slightly longer outting that includes a whole family photo. For this it will be about a 2 hour affair with dress that is not too formal, but still presentable.

In the evening we will have another small dinner with Shuwen’s best friend Hao and her mother. This will be a much more relaxed dinner.  

Date: July 13thLocation: Jinan
Day 5: Taian Today we have a small day trip to Taian where we will also take a small tram to see Mountain Tai as well as enjoy another family meal. This is where Shuwen’s Dad’s brother lives
Picture from our family meal last time in Taian
Date: July 14thLocation: Jinan
Day 6: Last Day in Jinan
Today will be our last day in Jinan and by all accounts should be pretty chill. This maybe a small dinner, but will most likely (if we haven’t already) have a home meal at Shuwen’s family’s apartment. 


Candid shot of a meal at Shuwen’s

Livingroom



Traveling Day
Depart:
Arrive:
Date: July 15thLocation: Chengdu
Day 7: Traveling to Chengdu


Today we’re going to be flying from Jinan to Chengdu (2.5hrs). This will end our Jinan leg and, as we have had a pretty chill beginning of the trip, we’ll now have a little more energy and do some more things. Shuwen’s Mom will be traveling with us, however, her Dad will be staying at home. We will also be meeting up with our very good friend, Xixi (prionounced like see-see).