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Earthquake Zone Visit
One of our hosts graciously took the team out to Sichuan¡¦s earthquake zone observation trail. It involved two very bumpy and rocky mini-bus rides from our hotel
which took over two hours. Unlike the previous year, the epicenter of
the Sichuan earthquake zone is now off limit to visitors. It is
surmised that the government now has a handle on the disaster, and
would prefer local authority on-site rather than visitors.
As the ride proceeded into the epicenter, we
did not see the wreckage of buildings as we anticipated, but rather, ruins, temporary housing, as well as new, or currently-under-construction residential and industrial buildings. Upon arriving
at the restricted zone, we were ferried off onto another minibus
to the bottom of the hill, where we hiked up the trail to an
observation post to survey (from a distance) the wreckage of the
natural disaster. The trail was lined with local merchants selling
indigenous products and earthquake media materials. Some materials
were quite graphic in nature as they depicted images of human tragedy of the hurt, injured, or deceased quake victims.
Our approach to the observation site was a hazardous
mountain trail, as we had a couple of visually-impaired and elderly
people in our midst. Some had elected to stay behind while the rest forged ahead to the observation post.
The damage observed was from quite a far distance, however, the devastation and calamity still conveyed the horror and tragedy that
cost 80,000 lives. This was reflected
on a number of plaques that were erected in memory of those whose lives this disaster had taken, and numerous flowers from
families and friends of the victims I supposed.
When we returned and spoke with some of our hosts on the government¡¦s reaction to the disaster, we were told that a museum has been built in the epicenter of the earthquake zone. It charges an admission fee of RMB$300 per person. It is interesting that the government would erect a memorial piece to draw tourists¡¦ money. I hope the museum will remind people about building houses that last on earth and in heaven.
"Will the museum entrance fees be channeled back to the affected family?" I wondered.
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