Greetings from Guangzhou!

We are drawing to the close of our first full day in the People's Republic.
We are still acclimating to the time zone -- 15 hours ahead of Portland -- and the steamy, overcast weather. No jacket required!

Before I give you an overview of our trip so far, I want to remind everyone to go the nba.com and vote for us in the Dancer Bracket! We are up against the Memphis Grizzlies and we need all your votes to make it to the next round!

We got our first taste of China's "Flower City" early this morning. That's when our local guide met up with us here at the Las Vegas-like Garden Hotel for a day-long discovery of things Cantonese. With six million people in the city proper, Guangzhou is a bustling place. One-hour plus from Hon Kong by train, Guangzhou is both a business and industrial center. The city's lush green is spiked by palm trees and shaded by banyans. Birds of paradise and orchids also prevail, a nice counterpoint to the humid, gritty air and gray skies.

To our battle cry of "shopping", when asked what we wanted to do today, our Cantonese guide this morning first suggested a cultural experience to start the day: The Guangdong Folk Art Museum. From life-sized pottery to intrically carved ivory, we took a very close look at the Chen Clan Academy. Later we did some serious shopping. Silk clothing, pearl necklaces, leather goods and more will be dutifully packed for the return trip.

Kristin and I sized up the still-living turtles we could have turned into lunch, but didn't We opted instead for the once upon a time living shrimp and fish we'd seen on the way to our table instead. Somehow, that seemed a little less like eating someone's pet reptile.

We drew attention everywhere they were today. Must be something about us wearing matching red Trail Blazers tank tops and having perfect dancer bodies!... no to mention having three blonds in tow. In the late afternoon, we checked out the Guangzhou Six Banyan Pagoda -- a Buddhist temple and monastery. Then tonight, Marlene and I took at look at the NBA Jam Van set-up for tomorrow's launch. We are excited about dancing with Chinese "lions" to gets things started tomorrow.

More on the Jam Van and other experiences in the PRC... soon!

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