Xin Hai sqaure

The Castle near Xin Hai square is a very gorgeous one. It used to house the Dalian history museum but now it is used as a hotel. It might cost you a pretty penny but you can actually stay in a room in this beautiful castle.

If you take a ride around Xin Hai square you will also see many different sculptures of various sports. Each one is unique and they surround the entire square. I am only going to post a few because there truly are a lot of sculptures.

Also, located in the middle of the square, is a giant column which some like to call the Zodiac Tower but which has another name I am unsure of. One thing I know is that it is massive and carved onto the sculpture are seven different depictions of dragons. On the some of the stones surrounding the column are carvings of the twelve Chinese zodiac signs. You can find your stone and look at the beautiful carvings when you go to see the column.

The Sea

I went to the ocean with a few of my friends and it was really a beautiful day. The part of the sea that we saw was close to an area called Xin Hai square. Xin Hai square is a very famous place in Dalian and when you go there it is sort of a custom to run from one side of the giant open book sculpture to the other. There are other neat things to see around the square too like a fairground, a castle and of course the beach. You can even take a horse drawn carriage all the way around the giant square.

The Zoo

Here are some more pictures from that day. I hope you like them, I know I do! ^^

This was a really fun day. We went to the Dalian Forest Zoo and spent the day watching animals do the funniest things. The elephants were really funny and there was even a point in the show when they started to play soccer. Although, it was even more hilarious how none of them could make it straight into the goal. I hope you enjoy some of the funny pictures I got from the zoo. My friend Hilda was the one who took us and you can see her in the picture with me. Our main goal was to see the panda and we did eventually but we had to walk a lot to get to him. Even while we were making our way to see the panda everyone kept telling me that the panda is usually always asleep. Lucky for me he was awake and oddly enough tried to climb up the wall. It was a really fun day and the people that were on the trip made it all the more enjoyable. If you ever decide to come to Dalian I would recommend that you visit the zoo at least once.

There is a nice little cafe called Echo that my friends and I like to go to. It is really laid back and they even have books to read there. Yes, some of them are in English. You can relax and get a warm cup of coffee then read a book. On this day my friend Edlyn and I were too tired to even look at a book but we still loaded up on extra sweet hot chocolate.

Making Friends

I would be lying if I didn't say I fell in love with Dalian because of the people. There are so many great people here and their hearts are as big as the city itself. I have made so many friends and each of them teach me something new everyday. My very best friend Victoria is also my Chinese teacher. I love her so much because she is patient and kind and.......crazy (Victoria "I'M NOT CRAZY!!"). She always knows how to have a good time and she has such a beautiful personality. Michael (My Ke Ai) is another one of my very good friends. He is truly the most profound person I have ever met. One of the most favorite things I like about him is his wit. His attempt to be poetic one day yielded this result.

A poem

by Michael

"Beautiful Sunshine,

Gentle Breeze,

Silent Office,

Take a nap."

It seemed silly at the time but as I look back I realize that this is what my experience has been like. Even when the weather is bad my friends here make my days beautiful and peaceful. I don't know what my life would be like if I had not met Michael and Victoria.

Yumm-O

I thought you guys might get a kick out of this. So one of my friends told me that the panda was very special to China. Then she gave me a cake shaped like panda and we had a

little fun with it. Here is what we did!

That Panda was so very special to me!! And delicious too. As I said we always have a lot of fun and do a lot of things to entertain ourselves.