Today the group was exposed to a very important cause, the Children’s Village. The Children’s Village is a daycare/orphanage for the children whose parents are in jail. This is a state sponsored operation, which is something we would not find in America.  They are trying to expose these children to positive, productive experiences, and proper education, while making sure they are not influenced by negative aspects of society they might find otherwise, in the hopes of turning their fate into something different from their parents. William did tell me that there is only one Children’s Village in China, but I think something like this will be extremely beneficial in America as well, since we are struggling with mass incarceration, and having a parent in jail increases the child’s chance of landing in prison as well. After spending some time trying to talk to the children, and then having lunch there, we left to visit the Greater Wild Goose Pagoda. I wanted to visit a Buddhist temple while in China, so I was glad this was included in the trip. The giant Buddha statues were amazing to look at, and the room carved in jade with the story of the Buddha was very intricate. After our daily tour was over, we headed to the Muslim Market after resting. The food was amazing, especially the barbeque bread that was well seasoned. William also bought us a Mobike, so I was able to cross that off my list of things to do in China as well. Later at night, I was struck by how the cost of taxi drivers and rickshaw drivers was very reasonable, as opposed to Beijing. The people in Xi’an truly did not try to take advantage of us as foreigners, which made me feel welcomed in this city. I hope the same will be the case during our stay in Shangai.