Wenchuan a Decade On
At 14:28:04 on May 12, 2008, an 8.0-magnitude earthquake rocked Wenchuan County in southwestern China’s Sichuan Province, shaking mountains and toppling buildings. Nearly 70,000 people lost their lives and millions lost their homes. The disaster was the most destructive earthquake since 1949 and the deadliest quake since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake.
A decade later, the deep pain has been numbed by the years, but the warm, swift support received not only from across China, but from around the world, remains cemented in the hearts of many people.
Recently, China Pictorial reporters visited Qingchuan County in Guangyuan City, Beichuan County in Mianyang City and Mianzhu in Deyang City, and Wenchuan County in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, all in Sichuan Province, to document the lives of local people today.
The reporters met countless people who experienced the earthquake, but when recounting the past, many stressed similar sentiments: “accept help, learn how to be thankful and give back to society.”
1 In Yingxiu Town, Wenchuan County of the Awba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, a family from Qinghai Province poses for a picture in front of the site of Xuankou Middle School. Behind them are the huge white clock sculpture and the ruins of the collapsed building. The “clock” points at the moment when the earthquake struck.
2 The reconstruct ed Yingxiu Town after the Wenchuan Earthquake integrates the architectural features of the Tibetan, Yi and Han ethnic groups. Ten years ago, Yingxiu was the epicenter and the hardest-hit area in the earthquake. Today, it has become a model for post-earthquake reconstruction in Wenchuan County.
3 Yang Yungang (2nd right), owner of Bo’ai (Universal Love) New Village Restaurant in Yingxiu Town, Wenchuan County, and his family. Ten years ago, Yang was working as a driving instructor and his wife cooked at Yingxiu Primary School. The earthquake demolished their home, and both lost their jobs. Fortunately, they didn’t lose any family members. Ten years later, Yang’s children are married and have their own children: The family of five has expanded to 11. Yang opened a restaurant thanks to the government’s supportive policies. Now business is booming so much that the family hired seven new employees. During peak season, daily revenues of the restaurant exceed 10,000 yuan. Last year, it earned a net profit of over 100,000 yuan.
4 Students at Bayi (August 1) Elementary School in Shuimo Town, Wenchuan County ready to go home after school. The century-old school was reconstructed with the aid from the Second Artillery Corps of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army after the May 12 earthquake. It evolved from the Chuxiu Academy, which was founded in 1828, the 8th year of Emperor Daoguang’s reign of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It was one of the toughest reconstruction projects due to its geographical location right at the epicenter. After reconstruction, the new school covers 34,000 square meters, with total floor space of 17,800 square meters.
5 Liu Hongshu (3rd right) runs a farmhouse restaurant on Bailonghu Happy Island in Qingchuan County, Guangyuan City. When the disaster struck, Liu was working elsewhere, but her house was destroyed. Today, her family runs a restaurant featuring rural flavors, which brings a net profit of 140,000 yuan annually. “The government invited a chef to give us vocational training,” Liu reveals. “Now my son-in-law serves as the chef in my restaurant.”
6 A mother works at a fungus cultivation base in Qingchuan County, Guangyuan City. The agriculture-oriented county suffered heavy losses in the earthquake 10 years ago but is now back on track after complete reconstruction. Its advantageous natural environment and large-scale breeding industry have hastened the development of ecological agriculture which has in turn accelerated improvements in local farmers’ living standards.
7 Suo Guifang (right) with her mother and daughter in front of their new house in Zaoshu Village, Huangping Township of Qingchuan County, Guangyuan City. In 2009, Suo opened a farmhouse restaurant, which has become the main source of income for her family. “If not for the earthquake, we might still be working far away in major cities,” says Suo. “But the earthquake made us realize that the most important thing we could do is to stay with our family.”
8 Li Cheng, head of Kongxi Tea Plantation in Qing chuan County, Guangyuan City. According to him, assistance from Zhejiang Province enabled his tea plantation to help more than 1,200 farmers grasp skills that have lifted 173 families out of poverty. By the end of 2017, Qingchuan County’s tea plantation base covered 18,200 hectares, involving 32 townships and 31,100 households, benefiting nearly 125,000 people. The development of tea plantation has injected vigor and vitality into the economic growth of Qingchuan.
9 Zuo Qin, who was buried in rubble for 72 hours during the Wenchuan Earthquake, presents flowers at a memorial in Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County, Mianyang City. “On May 12 every year, I get uncomfortable and it feels like yesterday,” Zuo gasps while recalling the day of the earthquake 10 years ago. “It’s still scary just thinking about it. I was so lucky to survive.”
10 He Jiang (right) and his father He Sanmao in the car shop they own in Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County, Mianyang City. He Jiang, now 26, was then a student who survived by climbing out of the ruins of Beichuan High School. He suffered a fractured clavicle. Due to the earthquake, the family’s motorcycle shop suffered heavy losses. Today, with support from the government’s twoyear interest-free startup loan, He Jiang and his father are back in the auto trade. He was emotional when tracing the psychological process of recovering from the injury after the earthquake: “In face of a natural catastrophe, humans are weak. Because of this I deeply feel how important it is for people to help each other. Since the earthquake, I have been devoted to public welfare causes. When I have more power, I will do more. If I don’t have much strength, I will do less. Nevertheless, I will still do something.”
11 Yongchang Primary School in Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County was reconstructed with the aid from Zibo City, Shandong Province, becoming the first restored primary school after the earthquake in the county. Its reconstruction started on December 21, 2009 and completed on July 21, 2010. Today, the school has a teaching building, a dormitory, a student cafeteria and a 2,000-seat stadium.
12 A wall painting provides an enchanting background for visitors to Penghua Village, Zundao Town, Mianzhu City. The village is famous for producing Mianzhu New Year pictures, which have played a central role in fueling the development of local tourism. Many farmers have opened farmhouse restaurants.
13 New Year pictures are featured in embroideries from Penghua Village in Zundao Town, Mianzhu City. Ten years ago, the earthquake caused severe damage to the village—98 percent of its houses were razed, and local rural tourism suffered heavy losses. May 2009 saw the completion of the New Year Picture Training Center, the first post-quake cultural industry project to be put into operation in Sichuan Province.