Yangxi Orphanage caring for our Grace

Yangxi Social Welfare Institute

These are pictures that other people have taken of the Yangxi Orphanage. They are not pictures of our Grace.

The Yangxi orphanage facility was completed in early 2002, and immediately began doing international adoptions. Yangxi is located in Western Guangdong, one of the few areas in China where abandonments are increasing.

The orphanage has four babyrooms, two on the second level and two on the third. The children move from room to room as they age, so every child is cared for by all of the nannies. The children sleep in steel cribs, one per child.

Prior to mid August 2005, all of the children were surnamed "Qiu" after the orphanage director. The CCAA at that time instructed the orphanages to give names that reflect their birth cities, so the orphanage changed the surnames to "Yangxi." In June 2006, the CCAA notified the orphanage that "Yangxi" was an inappropriate surname, since there are no surnames in China like it, and everyone would know that the children were from the orphanage. So, beginning January 2007, children are surnamed "Song.""Song" has historical significance in Yangxi County, being an old name for this area.

<>There is no foster program in Yangxi.

Yangxi County is 300 kilometers from Guangzhou in south west Guangdong Province, west of Yangjiang City. There are 460,000 people in the county, which includes nine towns: Zhilong (or Zhigong), the downtown area of Yangxi County, where the orphanage is located; Chengcun, Xitou, Shangyang, Pupai, Shapa, Rudong, Xinxu, and Tangkou.

Prominent crops in the area include potatoes, rice, wheat, sugar cane, peanuts, as well as various fruits. Fishing is the most important industry, due to its proximity to the South China Sea. 42% of the area is wooded mountain region, making wood the second most important product. Average temperature is 72 F (January 60 F, July 82 F).