By CGTN's Zheng Yibing, Zhang Kai
Today marks the ninth anniversary of the magnitude-8 Wenchuan earthquake in southwest China’s Sichuan Province. In terms of socio-economic losses, it was one of the biggest natural disasters in human history.
The town of Yingxiu was at the epicenter. Life there has returned to normal, but due to the special geological conditions of the region people are also aware that disaster may strike again.
Many people across China come to the town of Yingxiu to remember the disaster on May 12, 2008, and pay tribute to those who lost their lives. /CGTN Photo
Life for 67-year-old local resident Yang Yunqing is peaceful. But nine years ago it was a different story. After the 2008 earthquake struck, he suddenly found himself working as a rescuer. While he saved several people, he lost 10 members of his own family, including his wife.
Yang was so desperate after the family loss that he considered committing suicide. And it took a long time for him to recover from the tragedy. In the years that followed, Yang remarried and opened a restaurant in the town.
The locals first went out to a safe place for shelter, and gradually came back after reconstruction work was finished in 2011. Some of them opened shops, some opened restaurants, and others returned to traditional agricultural jobs in tea, herbs, and livestock raising.
Although the population of Yingxiu was halved by the earthquake, from over 12,000, the town is now prosperous once again, and the scenery and some of the region's special features make for profitable businesses for locals.
The town of Yingxiu, like many other quake-affected areas, has been rebuilt and returned to prosperity. All the buildings in Yingxiu could withstand a magnitude-9 earthquake. /CGTN Photo
But life here is not without its problems. For Yang Jiahui, a 40-year-old local village leader who experienced huge family losses, safety is now his main concern.
He said that all the buildings in his village of Majiaping, the core of the epicenter nine years ago, were built to withstand a magnitude-9 earthquake.
Yang Jiahui added that they are based on a unified construction plan, and built with a heavy-weight steel structure and the best materials they could find.
During the five years after the earthquake, secondary disasters like mud-rock flows happened occasionally during the rainy season. Although the situation has improved since 2008, people in the village remain prepared.
Although secondary disasters like mud-rock flows have abated in recent years, they still pose potential risks for locals, who prepare through holding emergency drills. /CGTN Photo
Yang Jiahui said they hold emergency drills from May to October every year, and store food, water and equipment.
For him and his fellow villagers, a good life is based on vigilance and remembrance.
Nowadays, an earthquake museum stands on the ruins of what was previously a school. Many people across China come here every day, to remember the disaster and pay tribute to those who lost their lives.
The ruins of Xuankou Middle School are preserved as a museum for people to remember the tragedy nine years ago, and to be mindful of possibile disasters in the future. /CGTN Photo
Yang Yunqing still occasionally visits the disaster site to leave flowers for those who perished. For him and many other people here, life is dominated by remembering the past while preparing for the future.
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