Chinese survivors of the Las Vegas shooting tell their stories

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The deadliest mass shooting in US history, which took place on Sunday night in Las Vegas, has shocked the world. Since it occurred during China's eight-day National Day holiday, many tourists from China were in Las Vegas that night and witnessed this horrible incident themselves.

No Chinese tourists have been reported dead or hurt in the shooting so far. But the survivors’ experiences may help people to get a more complete picture of that fateful night.

Tie Zheng, at David Copperfield Theater

Chinese tourist Tie Zheng was watching renowned magician David Copperfield’s show in David Copperfield Theater, MGM Grand, about one kilometer away from Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, a hotel where the gunman opened fire on concert goers at a nearby site.

Staff told visitors to stay inside the building. Photo courtesy of Tie Zheng

She saw security start to move around during the last part of the show. After discovering what was happening outside, Copperfield and the security told the audience to remain seated and kept them updated regarding the situation.

Copperfield also posted on his Twitter: "We could hear the gun shots from my stage and kept my audience on lock down for hours..."

"He entertained us and kept us calm through his experienced stage techniques," Tie wrote in her post on WeChat, adding she stayed inside the theater for another two hours before heading back to her hotel.

Audiences inside David Copperfield Theater were being updated with the latest information./ Photo courtesy of Tie Zheng

Many people at the Mandalay Bay also ran to the theater in search of shelter. The theater and Aria Hotel, which Tie stayed in, were all blockaded — no transportation was available during that time, meaning the audience had to cautiously walk back to their hotels.

"It was all glittering just hours ago, but it became a place that is empty, horrifying and quiet," Tie wrote.

"Until 3 a.m., I could finally get to my hotel room, and I couldn’t help trembling, it was the longest one kilometer I’ve ever walked."

Lai Gang, at Caesars Palace Hotel & Casino

Lai was hanging around at the hotel when suddenly everyone started running, with many people trying to get inside his hotel. In an interview with huanqiu.com, he said it all turned into chaos within a blink. At first they didn’t know what was going on, but still kept running because everyone else was.

"It was much more horrifying when you are not clear what exactly happened," he said.

He and several other tourists from China were split into two groups and ran towards different directions. When they encountered each other later, they couldn't help but hug each other, crying.

A casino in Las Vegas became empty after the shooting. Photo via huanqiu.com

While running through the hallway, a family from Guatemala opened their door and let them hide inside. Dozens of people, including Americans, Germans, Chinese and Guatemalans were hiding inside this one room.

Finally feeling relieved, they all took a selfie together.

"We have a friendship of life and death after experiencing this," Lai said.

The selfie of people from different countries hiding in one hotel room./Photo via huanqiu.com

Xiaoning, about 500 meters away from Mandalay Bay

Xiaoning didn’t expect that she would encounter this during his first her visit to the US. She was heading to Luxor Hotel and Casino when she heard the gunshots. She still wasn’t sure if the sound was a gunshot when it started the second time.

She saw people crying and running, and found out the gunshots were real through the people she encountered.

So, they ran towards a nearby hotel along with many other people. Xiaoning and several people started to cry since they were not sure whether the gunman was among them.

Two groups of fully armed policemen entered the hotel and asked them to sit and not leave. A group of armed policemen asked them to raise their hands and let them move to a hall on the third floor after checking each person.

"There were about over 500 people in the lobby, those who went in the hall needed to be searched," Xiaoning told huanqiu.com.

Xiaoning and her friends didn’t go in, but sat outside. Staff from the hotel gave them water and blankets to make them more comfortable.

People resting outside with blankets and water provided by the hotel./Photo via huanqiu.com

Guns are strictly controlled in China. As more attention is paid to the Las Vegas gun shooting, gun control has also become a major topic in China.