Wenchuan County in China’s southwestern Sichuan province has yet again been struck by natural disaster.

Rain-induced flooding and mudslides on August 14 “ravaged” the area, resulting in at least 38 people missing and approximately 10,000 evacuated residents.

Photo: Xinhua / Wen Xin

The county first experienced disaster when about 70,000 residents died in the 7.8-magnitude earthquake on May 12, 2008.

Rescue work is already underway. Local county government is housing displaced residents in schools and government buildings, with rescue teams conducting searches for victims and coordinating removal of debris.

The Chinese government has also implemented financial policies to ease rebuilding for affected citizens in both Sichuan and Gansu, which was hit with landslides earlier this month. Xinhua reports, “China’s central bank and banking regulatory commission have ordered the country’s financial institutions to provide preferential loan policies to victims in the mudslide-hit regions of Gansu and Sichuan provinces.”

We at WildChina are heartbroken by this news. After witnessing the aftermath of the 2008 earthquake first-hand, we know how difficult the recovery process has been for the people of Wenchuan. China’s morale has been tried multiple times already this year – in Qinghai, Gansu, and now Sichuan – and our thoughts go out to the affected communities in these areas. We hope that, given the amount of damage done in the past few years, that the government has gained the experience and insight necessary to swiftly and effectively provide aid.

We are following developments closely, and will keep you informed of any updates.

All WildChina itineraries to Sichuan are currently running as planned.

May is a special month for me.

May 10th is Mother’s Day. I appreciate my Mom, who is the greatest person in the world, gives me life and helps me to know the beautiful world.

May 11th is my birthday. I appreciate the life I’m living and the people around me.

May 12th is a day of memory in China and the world, as we mourn for and remember the people who lost their lives in the earthquake.

My memories go back to Sichuan. How did it become connected to me? I was there. This time last year, I was traveling with a group of experts in Sichuan, researching nature reserve ecotourism development. At that time, no one knew what would happen.

May 11th, 2008: We arrived Jiuzhai Town.

May 12th, 2008, Morning: We visited Baihe Golden Monkey Nature Reserve;

May 12th, 2008, Afternoon: We were visiting the Jiuzhaigou valley when suddenly, the earthquake happened. We were trapped in Jiuzhaigou for 2 days.

May 14th, 2008: We decided to drive back to Chengdu. It was a long, escaping journey that took nearly 3 days. We traveled through Ruo Er Gai, Hongyuan, Kangding… some of the most remote places in Northwest Sichuan. It was an adventure, one of the most adventurous journeys in my life. I grew and learned through it.

Though it was a devastating time for Sichuan, our people were not beaten. Love and support was gathered from every corner of China and the world.

At WildChina, we contribute our effort to help Sichuan post-earthquake development in the ways we know best. We worked with Sichuan local NGOs to help tourism development; we trained local staff, developed ecotourism products and brought guests there. We feel a strong connection to Sichuan.

In 2008, the Wenchuan people suffered and lost their home in this natural disaster. In 2009, they use their tremendous courage and strength to stand up and rebuild their homes. I believe Sichuan will be more beautiful than ever before.

A year after the 5.12 earthquake, let’s remember the past and look forward to the future.

Sometimes WildChina ends up in interesting places on the information super highway, so I thought it would be nice to share some of these links. I realize that these have been out there for awhile – let’s just say they took the slow boat from the US to get to the Beijing office.

• Here’s a blog post written by Tom Swick of the Florida Sun-Sentinel. He mentions a letter our founder Mei Zhang sent out in May after the Sichuan earthquake.  We’re still thankful that our guides in the area came away unharmed, and were glad to hear that the earthquake yesterday in California was relatively minor.
• For those of you looking for a secret “in” to the Olympics, check out this recent Forbes article mentioning WildChina. While we can’t promise you tickets to the opening ceremony, we can help you beat the crowds on custom tours outside of Beijing.
• Finally, while the BBC program “Wild China” is not affiliated with this WildChina, we’ve been getting a few inquiries about going on the same trips as that camera crew. While we can’t exactly duplicate their routes, we’re always excited to show people the largely unknown (until now??) beauty of China’s wilderness.

As I discover more places WildChina has traveled to on the web I’ll post a new list of links. Let me know in the comments if I miss something!

00.10 AM June 23

We landed at Chengdu Shuangliu airport. 42 days after the earthquake, 38 days after escaping from Chengdu, I’m back again. I feel especially bonded with this city. I am excited.

On the plane, a lady sitting next to me asked: are you going there to help (抗震救灾)？With so many lao wai? Haha, I laughed. No, we are visiting there. Actually, we’re the first tourist group coming to Chengdu after earthquake.

When entering the city, we saw many big red boards by the road, with many encouraging words, such as: “众志成城”; “同心协力，共建美好家园”. The city is as peaceful, as beautiful as before.

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WildChina’s t-shirts arrived at Sichuan’s Mupi Tibetan Village last week.  The village is located at, Pingwu county, one of the hardest hit counties from the Sichuan earthquake.

Confronted by such terrible tragedy, every little bit counts.  We have decided to make a collective donation to assist with the relief efforts in Sichuan.

WildChina has donated 21,906 RMB in total.  The staff raised 7,302 RMB, which was matched, in equal amounts, by our Chairwoman, Mei Zhang, and our CEO, Albert Ng.  The funds have been donated to the Red Cross Society of China and the Kangmei Institute of Community Development.  In addition to our financial contribution, WildChina is donating all of its tents and sleeping bags to the disaster area.

今天和一位爱心阿姨J陪着向峨乡的小朋友王万红出发了。根据小王同学的要求，我们首先到了青羊宫。我问他为什么选择到青羊宫这个道观。他说20号晚上从省医院出来散心的时候看到的。呵呵，就是这么简单的理由。正如我昨天估计得那样，今天的导游工作一点都不轻松。我和J每说一句话都要很仔细得先过滤一下用词，生怕触动到小王的敏感处。一个不大的景点看完，我突然感觉自己说话都很困难了，呵呵。去了麦当劳吃午饭，我觉得是个很主观的错误。我们认为是孩子就喜欢那里，但其实切实的了解和尊重他的感受才是最重要的。回到医院听说那个想吃草莓的小妹妹很快要动手术固定锁骨了，祝福她一切顺利。

这是张今天照的那个自己从映秀幼儿园废墟里不知道怎么爬出来的小超人－陈力然。他是病房里的小开心果。妈妈在地震中腿部受伤，挣扎着到幼儿园。2层楼的幼儿园已经倒塌。妈妈几乎是发了疯的刨瓦砾。突然有人喊，你的幺儿在那边。妈妈才看到坐在一堆废墟上的小力然。

今天省医院6楼的烧伤科又来了好几个大小都有的孩子。有个10几岁的小男孩，地震没有受伤，却在帐篷里被烧伤全身。我不想去描述症状了，只希望大家可以默默得为他们祝福，可以早日康复，不要留下太多伤疤。因为来了孩子，自然要准备奶粉、米粉和生活用品，包括他们父母的。

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