PuTian Social Welfare Institute

PuTian SWI: This large orphanage is in the city of Putian on the coast of Fujian Province, about a 1.5 hour drive south of Fuzhou. There are about 100 special needs children under age 14 in this orphanage. The first international adoption from the orphanage occurred in July 2005.

About Putian: Putian is a coastal city located on the west bank of the Taiwan Straits and has a regional population of about 3 million. The area is rich in marine resources from three nearby bays and 150 neighboring islands. Putian's main industries are shoemaking, brewing, electronics, garmentmaking, foodstuffs, and machinery manufacturing. Its main agricultural products are aquatic products, fruits, livestock, edible mushrooms, and vegetables. Forty percent of the loquats produced in China come from the Putian area. It also leads in raising eels.Meizhou Island, a 20minute ferry ride from Putian, is the birthplace of Mazu, a goddess of the sea. Every year on Mazu's birthday grand sacrificial ceremonies are held on the island and Mazu followers from all over the world gather here to worship this goddess. There are more than 3,000 Mazu temples in more than 20 countries throughout the world. Other famous historical sites include the South Shaolin Temple, the home of one of China’s famous martial arts, and the 1,000-year-old Guanghua Temple. Putian is the hometown of many overseas Chinese. Emigration overseas started in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). It is estimated that 600,000 overseas Chinese and foreign nationals originated in Putian.

History: Putian County was formed in the year of 568. Over the hundreds of years following that, it was abolished and then re-established several times. Through all these major and minor changes, Putian City emerged in 1983.

Physical Features: The city nestles to the hilly area of southeastern coastal area of Fujian. The whole terrain inclines from the northwest to the southeast, and the land is higher in the north, lower in the south. There is a shortage of cultivated areas.

Climate: Putian is adjacent to the sea, and consequently the weather is moderate and humid all the year round. Enjoying a typical subtropical oceanic monsoon climate, the city has plentiful rainfall and adequate sunshine. The weather in spring and autumn is favorable and cool.

When to Go: The winter is short so April to October is the best time to visit Putian.

Depending on the size of the SWI and how often visitors return, a visit could can be a highly anticipated event by the staff, or a routine, minor inconvenience to the day to day running of the institution.

You will want to discuss this aspect of reality with your child and prepare her or him for what it might be like, based on what you know. It is good to talk to your child about what to expect and then what to do if things turn out differently than you expect. It is important to develop an attitude of flexibility and focus on enjoying the experience rather than to get set on things going a certain way, since things don’t always go exactly as planned on any trip or daily life experience. A small gift is always appropriate for the effort expended by the director and or staff to accommodate the visiting family.

Since it may be several years after an adoption, it’s not unusual that the orphanage moved to a new place. Remember it’s normal, natural, time will not stand still, just as your children changed dramatically from she/he was a baby when just there.

If you are interested in visit both of the orphanages, we are happy to facilitate it, you can follow the previous footprint to recall your excitement when you look at your children at first time.

We usually arrange visiting the finding site for families if have the Notarial Certificate of the finding place. The finding site usually is at the front of hospital/orphanage/government agencies, etc. Please note that there places may be changed also.

Since visiting the finding site is the most emotional part of the trip, it’s a personal decision for each family and only you can make the decision if you want to accomplish it.

We always arrange the meeting with the previous caregiver/ foster family. If you have the information of the previous caregiver, we will try our best to find her. Please do remember that it’ll be some years after your adoption, the caregiver may be moved away or be retired. If the caregiver is still working in the orphanage, the director will happy to facilitate the connection.

Also please note that the caregiver may take care of more than one hundred babies in the orphanage, so that she may not remember your child well.

If your family is interested or inclined to invite the orphanage director to lunch, it is proper to invite others in the meeting as well. This would usually be one or two of the directors' assistants. If you want to invite the caregiver or nanny, then you should extend that invitation through the director to show the proper respect that the position merits. Your guide will handle this for you, but inviting the staff through the director follows proper etiquette for the situation. Some of the orphanages offer the free lunch while the others request about USD90-USD150 for the extra charge. You may ask our trip consultant before you travel.

When visiting an orphanage, it is appropriate to prepare some gifts for the director/staff and the children. You can invite the director, the staff or the caregiver to have lunch together or prepare fruit basket for them, for their effort expended to accommodate the visiting family.

As for the gifts to kids, you can prepare some snacks, candy, books, school backpacks, toys and so on. Usually, you can buy them when arrival at the orphanage place, the guide can escort you.

If you want to donate something more valuable and not sure what is needed for the orphanage, you can first learn it from the director and then purchase them from the local market. Some SWI will issue a donation certificate to you but not every SWI will do this.