Today marks the eighth anniversary of the catastrophic earthquake that struck Wenchuan County in southwest China’s Sichuan province. At least 87,000 people were killed or declared missing in the disaster.
Wenchuan has undergone tremendous reconstruction since 2008. After the disaster, there were many collapsed buildings and the town was covered in dust. Wenchuan now looks modern, and its tourism industry is undergoing rapid development. In Yingxiu township, the epicenter, survivors still bear deep scars.
In a middle school in Yingxiu Township, Yang Heqiong provides counseling to her students. Like many around her, she saw the worst of the massive earthquake in 2008. The school she taught at was reduced to rubble.
Yang said, “The building was shaking so bad. There was sand in my mouth and nose. But I wasn’t hurt, so I thought to myself I won’t die here.”
That she did not. But she came to very slow. She was buried in the debris for three days without food or water.
“In the afternoon of the third day, I heard someone shouting for me. He screamed, and with each scream, he cried. I recognized that voice as my husband’s,” Yang said.
Rescue teams could not reach the town. So Yang Heqiong’s husband dug her out of the rubble.The school was later relocated, but the locals decided to keep the ruins to remember the earthquake. Dozens of students and faculty members died that fateful afternoon eight years ago. Standing here you can still see the scale of the damage.
One of Yang Heqiong’s students, 19-year-old Wang Guangxing lost his arm in the earthquake.
Wang said, “I wondered why I didn’t die. Yes, I survived, but I lost an arm. I felt my whole life had lost its meaning.”
Desperate, Wang sought help.
“He had no confidence. I had to encourage him very hard to answer my questions during class. And he would be very reluctant. Gradually, he started to raise his hand more, and became pretty active,” said Yang Heqiong.
Now, Wang is a high school senior. He is about to take the college entrance exam and wants to study history.
Wang said, “It’s a little bit scary to think about the future right now. But I think I will adapt.”
