ChuZhou Children's Welfare Institute

ChuZhou Location: Situated in eastern Anhui Province at the west fringe of the Yangtze River Delta, it neighbors the capital of the province, Hefei and Jiangsu Province. It is 120 kilometers (75 miles) from Hefei and about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Nanjing of Jiangsu.        

Chuzhou orphanage: The orphanage opened in 1995 and has a total of 3,000 square meters. Da household children (about 120) and the elderly. There is an area of rehabilitation for children in need. To visit this welfare institute, you can take flight to Hefei and then we can arrange to pick up you and drive you to Chuzhou. It will take about 2 hous for 135km.

Chuzhou History: Prior to the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC), this area was inhabited by several tribes and states. Through hundreds years of wars, the administrative division of the city basically take form during the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties. The name Chuzhou has been used since 589 for the Chushui River flowing through the city.        

Physical Features: Situated in the hilly area between the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers, the terrain of the city declines from west to east. Hills and plains make up the main part of the city's territory.                

Chuzhou Climate: It enjoys a subtropical monsoon climate, featuring torrid summer and chilly winter. Generally speaking, It has abundant rainfall, especially during the mid-June to early July.  

When to Go: Given the weather, May is the best month for visiting the city.  

Special Local Products: Snowflake cake, Langya crisp candy, Chu chrysanthemum, whitebait

Local Highlights: Fengyang County is a famous town of folk art in China, reputed as the hometown of flower drum. Fengyang Drum Dance and Fengyang folk songs are well-known to Chinese people. In addition, the Langya Mountain Temple Fair is held annually on the ninth day of the first lunar month.

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.