MkGenie Polaris

　　汶川8.0级地震发生后，中国地震局组织专家赴四川、甘肃、陕西、重庆、云南、宁夏等省(自治区、直辖市)开展了现场调查，调查面积达50万平方公里，调查点4150个，在实地调查基础上，编绘了汶川8.0级地震烈度分布图。

　　一、汶川8.0级地震烈度分布图

　　(一)烈度分布图

　　(二)各烈度区面积和范围

　　汶川8.0级地震Ⅵ度区以上面积合计440442平方公里，其中：

　　Ⅺ度区：面积约2419平方公里，以四川省汶川县映秀镇和北川县县城为两个中心呈长条状分布，其中映秀Ⅺ度区沿汶川-都江堰-彭州方向分布，长轴约66公里，短轴约20公里，北川Ⅺ度区沿安县-北川-平武方向分布，长轴约82公里，短轴约15公里。

　　Ⅹ度区：面积约3144平方公里，呈北东向狭长展布，长轴约224公里，短轴约28公里，东北端达四川省青川县，西南端达汶川县。

　　Ⅸ度区：面积约为7738平方公里，呈北东向狭长展布，长轴约318公里，短轴约45公里。东北端达到甘肃省陇南市武都区和陕西省宁强县的交界地带，西南端达到四川省汶川县。

　　Ⅷ度区：面积约27786平方公里，呈北东向不规则椭圆形状展布，东南方向受地形影响不规则衰减，长轴约413公里，短轴约115公里，西南端至四川省宝兴县与芦山县，东北端达到陕西省略阳县和宁强县。

　　Ⅶ度区：面积约84449平方公里，呈北东向不规则椭圆形状展布，东南向受地形影响有不规则衰减，西南端较东北端紧窄，长轴约566公里，短轴约267公里，西南端至四川省天全县，东北端达到甘肃省两当县和陕西省凤县，最东部为陕西省南郑县，最西为四川省小金县，最北为甘当省天水市麦积区，最南端为四川省雅安市雨城区。

　　Ⅵ度区：面积约314906平方公里，呈北东向不均匀椭圆形展布，长轴约936公里，短轴约596公里，西南端为四川省九龙县、冕宁县和喜得县，东北端为甘肃省镇原县与庆阳市，最东部为陕西省镇安县、最西边为四川省道孚县、最北部达到宁夏回族自治区固原县，最南为四川省雷波县。

　　二、烈度说明

　　(一)本次地震的震中烈度达Ⅺ度，以汶川县映秀镇和北川县县城为两个中心。

　　(二)Ⅸ度以上地区破坏极其严重，其分布区域紧靠发震断层，沿断层走向成长条形状；Ⅹ度和Ⅸ度边界受龙门山前山断裂错动的影响，在绵竹市和什坊市山区向盆地方向突出，都江堰市区也略有突出。

　　(三)在山前盆地边缘的过渡带，烈度向东衰减很快，而西侧则衰减相对较缓。

　　(四)烈度分布南北也不对称，Ⅷ度区和Ⅶ度区范围向四周扩大，且相同烈度的区域在北部比南部大，进入甘肃省和陕西省境内，显示出断层破裂向北东方向传播，最大余震发生在断层北部。

　　(五)Ⅵ度区在四川盆地和丘陵地区分布范围很广，一直延续到重庆市西部和云南省昭通市北端，在四川省西部面积相对要小。

　　(六)此次地震有多个烈度异常区，其中汉源为位于Ⅵ度区的Ⅷ度异常区，其余均为高于所在区一度的异常区，包括：康县(Ⅸ度异常区)、中江(Ⅷ度异常区)、通江(Ⅶ度异常区)、洪雅(Ⅶ度异常区)、宝鸡-岐山-眉县(Ⅶ度异常区)、西安(Ⅵ度异常区)。(来源：中国地震局网站)

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P.S. 攀枝花前几天发生6.1级地震，已造成40人死亡，数百人受伤。何时才是休？

关于《震撼世界的七日》，我没时间看CCTV黄金时间的播出，但总还是记挂着，况且这两天又余震死人了。今天从网上下载了第一集，但看了一半，就实在看不下去了。

这个片，从绵竹汉旺镇开始讲，范伟等一干演员，在四川的小镇里说着标准的普通话。地震发生前，着墨了一些日常的琐事、喜乐和愿景，不知道是瞎编的还是有真实素材，反正这就是所谓的“纪实剧”。

慈善的名义，明星的光环，宣传的功能，它试图感动中国，却让不少人倒了胃口（网上一查，批评声多的是）。尽管创出了无数之“最”（“最快”、“最低”、“最多”之类），但结果却是粗制滥造，让我不得不怀疑这样做究竟“何必”？这些参与者自己在反省、回看这部所谓的电视剧的时候，自己都不感到脸红吗？

一次写进历史的惨痛国殇，就这样轻率地被制作出来。很多东西，——从台词到道具——，都假得可以。剧情和人物塑造，也充分走起了“高”“大”“全”的光明之道，写的是“救援”“互助”“团结”之类“伟大的”主题词。其实大家直接看新闻报道不就得了吗？某CCTV的名嘴当时就在主持节目的时候说这是场“大戏”。从某种意义上来讲，他没有说错。

诚然，我相信其中不少参与者是在地震后出于想要帮忙的真心，他们还在余震中冒了一定风险。是啊，艺人们遇见这种情况，是做不了什么大事，不就靠他们到处义演、慰问、捐钱吗？刘德华一去现场，不知多少人连人都不救了，要过去看他，变成粉丝为他尖叫，如此抚慰人心，多么的“伟大”。然而，你们就义演、慰问、捐钱不行吗？

导演赵浚凯在接受媒体采访时，说什么“在那么短的时间里要完成筹备、拍摄、制作的任务，有很多细节没有考虑周到，当然会有不尽如人意的地方”，就把外界的质疑和批评挡开几万里去，一点都没有愧色。因为这些都是“任务”罢了。

像这种民族大灾难，正是需要多少年的慢慢沉淀、康复、消化、发掘、收集、整理和研究，要做足功课的，可就这样被迅速地儿戏掉了。仿佛只要“初衷”和“意义”上政治正确，就可以抵消一切的不如意。但他们至少要在“重现大灾难”和“体现人性光辉”上，对得起死去的人们，而不是让其沦为一部赶时间做出来的宣传工具，来影响和催眠不幸的幸存者和泛滥的同情者。

我最不能忍受的，是看到那些熟悉的肃穆的场景，在这样一部电视剧里出现。作为一个去过现场的记者，当我看到那些演员，在那些我曾踏足过、见证过的，满是废墟又笼罩着死亡和无尽悲伤的土地上，东施效颦般地试图重建当时的场面，我不知道对这样拙劣的滑稽，是该哭还是该笑。在惨烈的现实和真实的遗迹中去营造戏剧化的效果，真是多节省布景费啊。还去假装奔跑，去假装哭喊，他们真的做得出来！

试问美国9/11发生后，是否有什么演员马上就去废墟现场赶时间拍过戏的？

更何况，在无数人心和整个国家的创伤还未抚平之际，就以这么快的速度拍出“高于生活”的电视剧，从而去再揭伤疤，再触伤痛，我不知道这些人对心理学有过一点了解没有？倾听过人民的意愿没有？体恤过灾民的情感没有？调查过专业辅导人士的意见和看法没有？有一点真正的良知、谦卑和对死者的敬意没有？

这种冠以“高尚”之名做出的东西，更凭添了“假仁假义”之嫌。这个片子为什么要这么急着拍，到底是要给谁看？到底是要真正达到什么效果？带去的是不是真正的慰藉？这些到底有人想过没有？

我们可以再用9/11做例（因为典型），他们有那么发达的好莱坞，可第一部真正关于这个悲剧事件的电影是多少年后才谨慎拍出的？

毫无疑问，真实才是最美的，哪怕残忍。而关于这次大地震，我只想说，与其花时间赶出一部烂电视剧，不如花心思做一部BBC水准的记录片，令它在若干年后播出，供人们反思和缅怀。可我们的媒体和娱乐的圈子，水准、心态、视野、意图，以及道德感和使命感，也就不过而而了。或许更深层的原因，是我们可以理解他们的苦衷和源头，却是不想在这里说的。

Candlelight vigil for earthquake victims

By Keen Zhang
China.org.cn columnist
zhangr@china.org.cn

关于汶川地震诗歌潮现象的一篇专栏综述。 

"PLA, ever onwards!
"Heedless in the midst of nature's fury
"They persevere for the People..."

Sun Jianjun, a children's poet, showed us a rough paper at the central Hong Yang square in Mianzhu City, Sichuan Province on which he had written a poem praising the courage of the PLA soldiers who have struggled to save as many lives as they could following the deadly 8.0-magnitude Wenchuan Earthquake on May 12, which as of Wednesday had killed 69,176.

He reads aloud to us.

Sun, a Sichuan native, is one of those rare adults in China who still remain faithful to children's poetry. He has published several collections of his work. At the moment he is traveling around the quake-hit areas, trying to comfort people with his short and simple poems.

Sun is one of the poets who are trying to make a contribution to quake relief. A cultural phenomenon was born after the earthquake: thousands of professional poets, writers, editors and ordinary people are trying to find a way to express their emotional turmoil – sadness, gratitude, confidence and strength – through contemporary poetry. Many focus on sadly deceased parents, children and teachers.

On May 22, the first day after the three-day national mourning, renowned poet Hai Xiao first published a poetry collection Love Knows No Borders: We Are Here with Wenchuan through New World Press. Hai is also the founder of an influential poetry website – Xshdai.com. His initial plan was to open a channel on his web for quake-relief poems, then he had the idea of publishing a collection, which was eventually speed-edited by himself and the publishing house over 6 days.

"The best poems in the book are written by those who are not professional poets," Hai Xiao told China.org.cn, "because the best poems come from the true heart and the genuine emotion of common people. I cried a thousand times when reading the poems, but I also sensed a strong power, the power of the resolve of brave and stalwart Chinese people in the face of the colossal disaster."

New World Press promised that they would donate all the profits to relief work.

Several other poetry collections have been published. One titled Anthology of Poetry for Wenchuan was published by Qunzhong Press on May 24. The first print run of 2000 copies has been donated to Xinhua Bookstore, which will distribute the books to quake victims in disaster areas to boost morale.

The collection features around 100 moving poems. Many have appeared on the Internet.

One famous poem, entitled Child, hold on to Mommy's hand, reads:

Come, my child
Hold on to Mommy's hand
The road to Heaven is so dark
I fear you might be hurt again

The composition was written by 24-year-old Su Shansheng, who was struck by the image published on May 13 of a dead child's hand stretching out of quake ruins. He adapted a poem which he had written for his cancer-stricken girlfriend three years ago, and contributed it to earthquake victims.

Thanks to the rapid information freeway of cyber-space it received a huge amount of clicks and forwards in the virtual world, and quickly made its way into books and onto various charity vigils where numerous actors and hosts recited it.

When you search the poem's title on Google, you will find over 1 million hits. It was also reported that the poem inspired Chen Tiaoqiao, CEO of the leading Chinese online gaming company Shanda, to donate another 6 million yuan to survivors. The poem thereby earned the description "most valuable literary creation", while many said their hearts were touched after reading it.

The book also includes works by famous Chinese poets Ye Yanbin, Zhang Xuemeng, Wang Xiaoni and Yang Liuhong, and others by policemen, medical workers and volunteers from the front line. However, the famous poets' works are not nearly so well- known as some of the improvisations.

"The country has just witnessed a historical Renaissance in Chinese poetry," said the excited writer Yan Yanwen in a speech at Renmin University on June 3. Perhaps. But the worth of many of the poems comes not from their delicate structure and the careful choice of words, but from the heartfelt expression of true feelings.

Anthology of Poetry for Wenchuan

"Ordinary people are choosing to express themselves through poetry, and so the poem is once more the property of ordinary people. Poetry has won back its readers in millions, and it both takes on the burden of social responsibility and honors its value," Yan added.

Poetry in literature has always carried this healing power.

"For days, I did not want to talk to anyone – then on the night of May 19 I felt the impulse to write a poem," Li Shaojun, the editor-in-chief of literature magazine Tianya, told Xinhua. "Poems can express our deepest and strongest feelings, and I felt relief and the return of moral strength after I finished the work."

Before and after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, in the face of natural disasters, social transformation, and even revolutions, poetry has always been a quick and easy tool to express feelings and ideas.

As an example, when the Chinese people were dissatisfied with the Treaty of Versailles settlement – known as the Shandong Problem – the May Fourth Movement, a cultural and political anti-imperialist movement from early modern China, was formed on May 4, 1919. The New Culture Movement was launched which gave birth to Chinese modern neo-style poetry.

At that time Chen Duxiu, a leading revolutionary figure, educator, and philosopher, established an influential Chinese periodical, La Jeunesse, which was the earliest outlet for neo-style poems, attracting Hu Shi, Lu Xun, Li Dazhao and many other significant figures in Chinese literature. Such poems often played an important role in many later historical events.

Another example: on the day of the 1976 Qingming Festival, traditionally a time for the sweeping of tombs in China, people gathered in Tian'anmen Square to write hundreds of poems mourning the death of late Premier Zhou Enlai while protesting against the "Gang of Four" conspirators led by Jiang Qing. The clique was crushed in October 1976. In 1978, a collection titled Reproduction of the Poems of Tian'anmen was published, considered as a landmark in the history of modern Chinese poetry.

Poetry also enjoyed huge popularity in the golden era of the 1980s. However, this fever didn't last long. In the 1990s, writing poetry became a small-scale, unstructured, minority activity in China. The publication of poetry magazines and books fell into decline. As poets lost the attention of the general public, they turned desperately to gimmicks like nude-recitals and fake suicide. 

Zhao Lihua, a member of the Chinese Writers Association, even created a "Lihua-styled" poem, which commonly has no meaning but uses odd structures and absurd oral-word-play. In 2007 Han Han, a renowned and out-spoken young writer, supported by many others including myself, questioned the continued worth of so-called "Chinese modern poems" and "poets" given the value of what had been lost.

Wenchuan quake poems: a landmark of Chinese poetry history?

Things may be changing. Li Shiying, a writer from Shandong Province, wrote a poem called Wenchuan, I Cry for You Tonight on May 13. After he posted it on his blog, it earned 6 million clicks. 30 newspapers published it while 20 TV and radio stations broadcast it. This was beyond all the expectations of the author, signaling the first and largest poetry revival since the 1990s.

But some literary critics, such as Xie Youshun, suggest that the revival is essentially an emotional outlet for millions of aching souls, and the function of this poetry is to provide such a release. The purpose of the poetry movement is to express the voice of the heart, and it has not truly found a new area of growth. When the pain generated by the calamity gradually fades, Chinese modern poetry will find itself back in its previous position.

On June 12, a new collection called We Are Here Together, including poems by over a hundred poets from Qinghai Province, was published. On June 13, a poetry CD was released by the China Record Corporation. People may expect more to come. But who can predict how long the poetry wave will last, and how many copies of this kind of books and CDs can be sold?

As far as I can see, Sichuan is already returning to normal despite occasional aftershocks. People are smiling again. Some have started to play their beloved traditional games such as Chinese chess and Mahjong. The survivors and those less affected have started joking about the earthquake. Some outside observers might be amazed at the powers of recuperation of the Sichuan people. But that is what they are, and what they always have been.

I don't know if Sun Jianjun is still hurrying from group to group, writing poems and bringing comfort. But on the way back from Mianzhu to Chengdu, Sichuan's provincial capital, we were listening to our car radio. We were able to hear another short, simple poem for volunteer taxi drivers who had helped transport the injured to Chengdu from quake-hit Dujiangyan on the day of the disaster:

Bravo taxi drivers
We salute you
For we are proud of you.

地震以来，我翻了这么多本拿地震做文章的杂志，发现还是《中国国家地理》真正从比较科学的层面来探讨这次四川大地震。制图也相当的漂亮和专业。

推荐一买。

其卷首语，也有令人反思的成分。如下面这段话：  

“对于天灾的挑战，我们的应战越来越程式化，流于形式。我们应该怎样应战，让我们重新回到大禹治水的故事，那里面寓意深刻，每次重温，都会读出新的东西。

“禹和鲧治水的不同，往往被分析成堵与疏的不同。其实依我看来这只是表面的不同，真正的不同在于这是两种不同对待灾害或者说挑战的不同模型。

“鲧是堵水。深层的意思是这是一种刺激—应激型，是当灾难发生时，冲上去，迎战。这是一种波澜状阔的史诗般的场面，高潮迭起。整个抗灾过程壮烈、宏大，有奋战，有牺牲，可歌可泣，英雄辈出。

“但禹治水就不同了。禹是寻根溯源、标本兼治、未雨绸缪型。大禹治水没有戏剧性的场面，他没有在洪水滔天的紧要关头，冲上去堵沙包，他也没有速战速决的打算，他把治水看作是一个漫长的过程，这个过程艰难困苦，但是平淡无奇。平淡得有如生活。

“其实大禹治水的精髓是：治灾是一种常态。平时若灾时，灾时若平时。

“最后我建议在汶川或北川再建一座大禹的塑像，将其立在地震博物馆的门前。”

杂志里的一张制图，解释了中国为什么是地震多发国，令人触目惊心

By Keen Zhang

唐山的兄弟，在汶川地震后的26小时内，就不眠不休地驾驶汽车赶到了现场，在九龙镇驻扎下来。这里也是个重灾区。当我们去看他们的时候，他们已经是换来的第二批了。他们也不确定还会呆上多久，但希望能更加地尽到力。毕竟都是专家，却在当地，能做的很少，因为没有机会。重伤的都转了出去，剩下的只有简单的包扎工作，以及给自己烹饪的工作。大疫情没有，倒是狗发了疯，主人生人都要咬。蚊子和苍蝇都在面前飞，太阳也烤得杀人……

Amidst the devastation wreaked by the May 12 earthquake, a 12-member medical team from Tangshan operated in four medical tents alongside China's Red Cross tents and some local people's temporary tents. China.org.cn reporters visited the team in Jiulong Town, Mianzhu City in Sichuan Province yesterday.

On May 30, a second team led by Kan Zhisheng, Communist Party boss of Tangshan's Kailuan Medical Group, headed back to base camp in Jiulong to replace his first team.

Tangshan became known to the world on July 28, 1976 when a deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake flattened the city and caused 240,000 deaths.

After the 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck Sichuan on May 12, 2008, the group's hospital and Tangshan's Red Cross immediately dispatched a first emergency medical team unit to quake-hit areas on the afternoon of May 13. After 26-hours of non-stop driving, four medical vehicles arrived at Jiulong, a total of 2,000 kilometers away from Tangshan.

"We have gone through this before. We feel empathy with the Sichuan people," Kan Zhisheng, one of the survivors from Tangshan earthquake, told China.org.cn yesterday.

The first Tangshan medical team has now treated over 3,300 people since arriving and working round the clock.

Kan said they didn't know how long they would stay; his team is now waiting for further instructions from above. Despite occasional aftershocks the leveled town now feels almost peaceful.

"For now, I don't think a long-term stay here is necessary," he said. "We’ve sent out our best leaders and medical experts and they all want to contribute more but, as things stand here, we don't have much to do."

Wang Xueli, the Party secretary for the hospital's surgery department, explained that all severely injured people have been transferred to big hospitals outside the town. This means that their medical specialists are only needed for simple surgical dressing procedures and menial tasks such as cooking food.

Yet all of the Tangshan personnel are experts in their fields: neurosurgery, orthopedics, hepatobiliary surgery, pediatrics, endocrinology and rheumatism.

"We are considering relocating so that we can make a better use of our medical equipment and experts," Wu said.

Around 100 local people are treated daily, according to Tangshan Red Cross secretary Chen Yinbao. The team's other major responsibility is monitoring the grounds for any possible epidemic. To date nothing of import has been reported.

"We report to local authorities every day," Kan Zhisheng added, noting that numerous flies and mosquitoes buzzed around. He also said that since the earthquake, another problem had appeared: dogs. These mongrels bite people randomly – owner and stranger alike.

"We have tended to 20 dog bites so far. You know, the earthquake may have altered something in the nature of these dogs," Kan said and shrugged, adding they had treated all of the cases in a timely fashion.

Zahra Ali of the British Red Cross directs PLA troops who are helping set up the Red Cross base camp in Jiulong town. NGO team leaders told China.org.cn that cooperation with the authorities has been excellent.

By John Sexton
China.org.cn correspondent reporting from Sichuan
Additional reporting by Keen Zhang

One month after the May 12 earthquake, China.org.cn visited Jiulong, a township in Mianzhu, Sichuan, and found, amid appalling devastation and tragedy, people pulling together to rebuild their communities with massive assistance from government, NGOs, and individual volunteers.

Jiulong is the main township administering forty or so small farming communities scattered across flat rice-growing land at the foot of the Longmen mountains; it is just 30 kilometers from the earthquake epicenter Wenchuan.

The town was almost completely leveled, and hundreds of its residents killed, on May 12. Only a few, mainly modern buildings are still standing; almost all the older houses crumbled into piles of bricks. Many survivors are living in tents near to, or sometimes within, the wreckage of their former homes, unwilling to leave their personal belongings, or maybe from a personal sense of belonging.

Jiulong exemplifies many familiar aspects of the Sichuan earthquake story. There was a horrific school collapse in which at least 150 primary school children were killed. The ruins of the school, with dozens of large white wreaths, and small table-shrines carrying children's toys, are a shocking and harrowing sight. Parents have hung banners proclaiming the collapse of the building was not a natural disaster but a man-made tragedy caused by shoddy construction. The authorities, for their part, have not attempted to remove the banners.

Our experience in Jiulong reflected the halting and contradictory steps, seen since May 12, towards greater media openness. When we arrived at Jiulong, in convoy with the International Red Cross, we were stopped by police and told "No interviews, no photos." But once inside the town we found a Spanish film crew working openly. One of the leaders of the Red Cross base camp, also from Spain, told us "If you have any problems with interviews and so on, just call me. The police chief is my friend; I have lunch with him every day."

There are cases of terrible hardship. As we toured the town with the International Red Cross, we were stopped by Huang Dexiu, an elderly lady who pleaded with us to help her care for her husband, Fu Qingyou, an 82-year-old PLA veteran, wounded almost 60 years ago in the Korean War.

"I don't care whether I live or die, but who will look after him? Since the earthquake he hasn't been able to do anything for himself. I even have to take him to the toilet. A tank shell couldn't kill him but the earthquake has done for him. We're coming towards the end of our lives, and now this. I don't know what to do." Her husband sat nearby staring blankly into space, apparently unaware of his surroundings. We all felt helpless, even the capable, can-do Red Cross workers.

The 82 year old People's Liberation Army veteran Fu Qingyou outside his wrecked home. Mr. Fu was wounded by a tank shell in the Korean War nearly 60 years ago, but until the earthquake had been in relatively good health. Since May 12 he has not spoken a word or walked a step unaided. His wife, Huang Dexiu, who is in her 70s, told us she did not know how she would cope with caring for him.

But amid all of the pain and the terrible loss and waste, Jiulong is an example, much like the successful draining of the Tangjiashan quake lake, of how prompt, effective action can avert the worst outcomes.

Despite fears of water pollution there has been no post-disaster epidemic. Doctors at a field hospital supplied by the city of Tangshan, scene of an even more devastating earthquake in 1976, are mainly treating people who have injured their ankles clambering through the rubble, or have been bitten by the town's dogs, which were apparently driven mad by the earthquake. They told us they were thinking of shutting up shop and moving the hospital to another town with more urgent need of their assistance.

The government has mounted a massive relief and reconstruction effort in the area. What looks to me like a division of the PLA Navy is erecting hundreds of prefabricated dwellings just outside the town. The PLA is also willingly pitching in to help the relief work of both Chinese and international NGOs. When we arrived at the base camp of the International Red Cross, we found dozens of troops helping unload supplies of prefabricated latrines and water purification equipment.

Overseas NGOs, particularly the Red Cross, have played a major role supplementing and plugging the gaps in the government relief effort. And without exception, the NGO staffers we spoke to were full of praise both for the government's relief and reconstruction work, and for the level of cooperation NGOs were receiving from at every level. Jaime Bara, leader of the Spanish Red Cross team in Jiulong, a veteran of many overseas missions, starting with Rwanda in 1994, told us he had never seen such a level of cooperation from the authorities in any other country. My judgment, for what it is worth, is that his words were heartfelt, not diplomat-speak.

One of the most impressive aspects of the Sichuan crisis, and perhaps most significant for Chinese society in the longer term, has been the mobilization of tens of thousands of civilian volunteers from all over China. In the immediate aftermath of May 12, the Chengdu office of the Chinese Red Cross was besieged by people demanding to be given, something, anything to do. Thousands made their own way to Sichuan as individuals, or with family, friends and ad hoc groups.

The ruins of Jiulong primary school, in which 150 children died. In the foreground is a small table carrying some of the children's toys. The banner reads "We demand justice for the children killed by a dangerous building".

Those with cars simply loaded up with supplies and drove there. Ina Bluemel, leader of the British Red Cross team in Jiulong, told us the volunteers were extremely committed and capable, willing to work almost continuously without a break, refused offers of payment and food, and were often able to contribute specialized skills.

The Red Cross translator Wei Gang is an example. Around 30 years old, Wei Gang straddles China's two worlds of the rich, urban East and the poor, rural West. His parents are from Jiulong so he speaks the local dialect perfectly. But he has a doctorate from Oxford, and in normal times he is a maths professor at Shandong University. Fluent and articulate in English, he told me he set off for Sichuan immediately after May 12, has been there ever since, and has no plans to leave any time soon.

It is hard to believe we are not yet halfway through 2008. The year started with freak snowstorms in southern China that killed dozens, disrupted exports and caused Spring Festival chaos. March saw the rioting in Tibet; then the disastrous international leg of the Olympic torch relay, in response to which, a defensive, edgy, and occasionally unpleasant kind of nationalism took shape both inside China and among the Chinese overseas.

But earthquake reconstruction has given the Chinese people a positive cause around which they have enthusiastically united; at the same time they have warmly welcomed generous assistance from overseas. The very same Western media that criticized China during the torch relay are now praising to the skies the government's relief and reconstruction work. Just possibly, by the time the Olympics come around, despite the shadow cast by May 12, 2008 will have given the Chinese people something they feel able to celebrate.

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Tiger, lions not yet saved due to valley climate 

The Happy Valley park is an alpine scenic spot in Hongbai Town, Shifang City. After the earthquake on May 12 the road was blocked, and there has since been a power blackout.

By Keen Zhang

The plan to rescue one endangered tiger and two lions from a Shifang wild animal park was postponed due to bad weather, with one military helicopter almost downed in southwest China's Sichuan Province yesterday, local media reported.

Despite careful preparation, the rescue effort did not go smoothly. Due to bad weather in the valley, the first planned rescue was postponed. A new attempt will be made today, Ge Yujin, an Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff, told the Tianfu Morning Post.

Three white lions and two white tigers had been trapped in the park since the May 12 quake. Breeders had trekked into the valley on June 5, bringing beef to feed the bony and starving animals. Two days ago a 2-year-old tiger was shot dead by soldiers to protect the safety of quake survivors, while another white lion has already starved to death. It is hoped to transport the remaining two white lions and one white tiger to the Bifengxia Zoo in Ya'an City.

However, a Super Puma copter heading to Shifang City to evacuate the animals made a forced landing at 12:35 PM yesterday when it encountered mechanical problems. Three people were injured, one critically, said an official with the Shifang Municipal Quake Relief and Rescue Headquarters when speaking to Xinhua News Agency.

The injured were evacuated by another helicopter. A preliminary report had indicated that no one was injured in the accident. The chopper had 13 crew and quake relief staff aboard when the accident happened. The aircraft belongs to Citic Offshore Helicopter Co. Ltd.

The Deyang Municipal Government this week agreed with the airborne force to airlift the animals out of the Happy Valley Park. Over 50 soldiers and rescuers were sent into the valley by helicopter yesterday while a temporary platform in a former parking lot of the resort was also set up for copter landing.

The white tiger is still alive, as well as two lions.

At 9:00 AM yesterday morning, the chopper took off from Guanghan City's airport. A Bifengxia Zoo's transport vehicle was standing by at the airport with a special veterinary team led by the zoo chief. According to the plan, the two lions would be carried out first by noon.

30 soldiers and forest rangers in the valley already had the two lions and the tiger in cages under only a small dose of narcotics. The three cages had been sent in at 5:00 PM on June 10.

Even though the lions were less than 1 kilometer away from the platform, it would take almost 3 hours for the rescuers to hand-carry the animals in their cages, weighing hundreds of kilograms, trekking along the mudslide-damaged road.

At about 4 PM the three cages reached the platform.

However, Lu Erxue, the chief of the quake relief center of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), said due to the bad and suddenly-changing weather, and the steep, narrow and complicated terrain in the valley, yesterday's rescue efforts failed.

Several choppers tried to make their way from Guanghan airport to the park during the afternoon, but most had to return, and one had to carry out a forced landing.

A chopper is taking off from Guanghan City's airport to rescue two lions and a tiger.

At 7:00 PM, 2 air force soldiers, 5 breeders and 2 reporters in the valley were temporarily back in Guanghan. The rescue effort is due to continue today. Wangguan Group, the parent company of the park, said they have reached a preliminary agreement with the International Fund for Animal Welfare to help the tiger and lions after they are evacuated.

The Happy Valley park is an alpine scenic spot and an entertainment park in Hongbai Town, Shifang City, attracting tourists and explorers. After the earthquake on May 12 the road was blocked, and there has since been a power blackout.

In the quake relief effort, one chopper has already tragically crashed. All 18 people on board, five crew members and 13 injured civilians, died in the accident. The bodies were recovered on Tuesday at the crash site near the epicenter town of Yingxiu after a 12-day search, and the black box voice recorder was found Wednesday.

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Courts restart trials in quake-areas

While many local Court Houses were damaged or collapsed in the major Sichuan earthquake on May 12, the local justice system has restarted operations again among the ruins, the Legal Daily reported.

 Court Tents have already been set up in front of damaged Court Houses. "It may be that these working conditions will last for a considerable time, but our judges believe we can maintain fair and efficient Court proceedings," said Tan Yin, a spokesman with the Deyang Intermediate People's Court.

Sun Shanchang, a director of Mianyang Intermediate People's Court, said their Court and the Court of Anxian, one of the city's counties, will provide legal assistance to Beichuan Court if they need more specialists. Anxian Court resumed operation as early as May 19, before aftershocks had ceased.

On May 30, Hanwang Court and Mianzhu Court resumed operation in tents. Tan Yin said Shifang City's Yinfeng Township Court restarted operation as early as the day after the earthquake. So far, it has accepted 6 cases, closed 8 cases, sent 19 cases to higher Courts, and provided legal consultation for over 1,000 people.

In Deyang City, to June 3, 30 cases had been accepted, 69 had proceeded to trial, 53 had been held over and 72 were closed. By June 6, 148 had been closed, enforcing orders of over 91.50 million yuan.

On May 14, a middle-aged woman came to Shifang Court's tent to say that her husband was in custody in Shifang City's jail for causing traffic casualties. She said her house had collapsed, although the elderly and the children escaped death, but that they had had nothing to eat for days. Holding that her husband did not pose a genuine social threat, the Court quickly agreed to release him on bail.

On June 3, a man named Mao Fanglin was sentenced to 7½ years imprisonment and a 20,000 yuan fine for stealing in quake-areas at the tent Court in Shifang. He was arrested on May 17. This was a first post-quake case in which Shifang Court wanted to show that maintaining social order and fighting crime are a key priority at this time.

Several days ago Sichuan Province Superior Court issued an order asking all Courts in Sichuan to pay special attention to cases relevant to the earthquake, and make sure all such cases are handled in a timely and effective manner.

Seven tents standing at the north side of Anxian's driving school accommodate Beichuan's temporary Court. Only 16 of 44 staff survived the earthquake, among whom 3 were severely injured. The Court House collapsed, and the office equipment and case files were all destroyed.

Li Zhijun, the vice president of Beichuan Court said that before the earthquake, there were several hundred cases outstanding. For now, the most difficult task is to deal with various procedural issues resulting from the quake disaster.

"Over 7,000 people in Beichuan were killed or are missing in the earthquake," Li said, "This is going to be huge problem because there are many civil consequences. Issues relating to bank deposits, property, and contract will have to be dealt with by Court in accordance with determined legal procedures.

"We'll have 200 to 300 cases a year. We can overcome the current difficulties and resume operations", Li said confidently. Nine judges have already started work in the tents.

By David Ferguson
China.org.cn correspondent reporting from Sichuan

A message of terrible poignancy

前周跟我一起去绵竹的David终于把学校的故事写了出来：

Someone took a lot of trouble to provide the students of the Dong Qi Experimental Middle School with a beautiful and serene place to study. The school lay at the north end of Hanwang Town on the banks of the Mianyuan River, right on the spot where it tumbles out of the mountains on its way towards Mianzhu and the Sichuan plain.

The entry to the school was an impressive arch tiled in blue and white ceramic façade. Above the entrance, the school's motto was picked out in splendid gilt relief, urging its students to be diligent, honest, and hard-working. Immediately on passing under the arch, on the left hand side was the school's Honour Roll, a pictorial tribute to the students who had best lived up to these ideals.

In a sign of simpler times, above the Honour Roll hung framed pictures of legendary Chinese heroes of the Korean War. On the facing wall hung maps of China and of the World. These were topped with portraits of symbols of an earlier revolutionary age – Engels, Marx, Lenin, Stalin and Mao. Between the two walls was the School Clock.

Strive to be honest, diligent and hard-working

The arch ushered you between two pillars, each decorated with a fine ceramic tile painting – one a pheasant and the other a phoenix – into a cool, shaded garden. Trees and shrubs provided an atmosphere of green seclusion. A neo-classical statue was the centrepiece of a fountain and pool in which carp swam. A high stone wall ran the length of the garden, with a covered vennel that added to the sense of privacy.

In the middle of the wall were a small doorway and a set of steps that brought you up on to a paved walkway running for hundreds of yards along the riverbank – from calm shadows into fresh bright airs. Every few steps along this path there was a bench of massive, carved stone logs. Looking down on the sparkling water and the white stones carried down by the current over thousands of years, and across to the nearby mountains, it must have been a perfect place to read or think on a pleasant summer's day.

When the earthquake struck, the area around the Dong Qi school was particularly hard-hit. What is left of the school stands on the edge of several acres of waste and destruction.

Much of the area around the school was devastated.

Now, that entrance arch is the only part of the main school building that is left standing. Everything it carried is still there – the motto, the Honour Roll, the maps, the portraits – but all are coated with a fine dust of pulverised mortar and plaster. Bizarrely, the clock ticks on, still dutifully and accurately recording the time, more than a week after the earthquake that destroyed the school and took the lives of so many of its students.

The statue and fountain are cracked. Dead fish lie in the dry bed of the pond. Already the gardens and trees look overgrown and dishevelled, and the courtyard is littered with rubble. Through the doorway and up the steps, the riverside walkway is cracked and uneven. Some of the stone log benches have broken and fallen down the banks into the sluggish brown water of the river. Up in the mountains is a quake dam that threatens what little is left of Hanwang Town, and other still-populated areas to the east.

The site is deserted, not another human being to be seen. The school might have been derelict for years. Around the fallen buildings lies evidence of a struggle for life – lifting gear and straps, heavy-duty crane cables, oxy-acetylene gas canisters, a helmet, a hacksaw, some shovels. The fight was long and hard, but largely futile. Of the hundreds of children who were buried, only a dozen or so were pulled out alive. One was the iconic and courageous figure of 16-year old-Yang Liu, who survived for over 60 hours in the rubble, and whose legs were ultimately amputated in order to free her.

It is impossible to look at this scene of devastation and ignore the questions 'How', and 'Why'. Why did so many children have to die? What was it about this particular building that caused it to collapse, while others did not?

Was it simply bad luck – after all, much of the town of Hanwang was destroyed? Was it human error or incompetence? Or was it something more sinister – deliberate misconduct linked to corruption?

One thing that must be acknowledged is that in their understandable distress, bereaved parents are an unreliable source of information. At one collapsed school in Dujiangyan we were told by a father that the building was ten years old, and that pupils were supposed to have been moved out two years ago, while a mother told us that the school had been built in 1993, and that the authorities had known there were problems with the construction since 1999.

The Dong Qi school is reported to have been built in the 1960s. This would seem to be supported by the pictures hanging in the entrance, which clearly date from a time of Sino-Soviet cooperation, though the building itself does not look nearly as old as that.

But this is a trivial matter in the context of the loss the parents have suffered, and they deserve, and must be given, a full investigation into their tragedy, and a full and public account of its findings.

My heart quails at the thought that such devastation could have been wrought by deliberate acts of dishonesty. I am repelled by the idea that any person could have inflicted this torment for the sake of what would have been trivial amounts of money, however unintended or unforeseeable the consequences. But there is a clear case to answer.

The evidence for the prosecution stands in mute accusation, to the north-west of the fallen school and only a few feet away. The Girls' Dormitory is a drab building, with none of the carefully-wrought decoration that graced the school. It is an ugly cement-rendered affair, six storeys high, and it stands almost unscathed.

The lintel above every window has flexed and cracked, and the render has fallen away. Apart from that, nothing. If only the earthquake had happened in the night, hundreds of girls would have been in this dormitory and would have escaped any injury.

Feet from the collapsed school, the dormitory stands unscathed.

In terms of the structure of the two buildings, it is impossible to see how the framing of the main school building compared with the dormitory, because the dormitory is undamaged. The only visible difference is in the brickwork. The dormitory was built of small, solid, compact housebricks, while the main school walls were of much bigger and lighter airbricks. The Staff Accommodation blocks, which also collapsed, appear to have been built of these airbricks, while other nearby blocks of apartments, built of the smaller housebricks, did not.

Is it possible that this alone could explain the catastrophic collapse of the school building, while the dormitory stood undamaged?

Meanwhile, barely one hundred yards to the south-east of the main building, at the other end of the school's basketball courts, stands the evidence for the defence.

A second school building, apparently identical in design and construction to the main building, is undamaged. It has suffered even less than the dormitory. Hardly a pane of glass is cracked – even the ceramic tiles on the façade are still in place.

The only visible difference between this building and the one that collapsed is its orientation. While the main building stood on a north-west/south-east axis, the secondary building is at right angles.

A second school building, apparently identical in construction and design, is virtually undamaged.

Wu Zhiqiang, Dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning at Tong Ji University and also an appointed general planner for resettlement strategy in the Chengdu quake-hit zone, has already suggested that the orientation of a building in relation to the direction of an earthquake's shock wave could impact on its ability to withstand the quake.

Could this be the reason why the secondary building of Dong Qi School survived, while the main building was destroyed?

In due course questions like these must be answered, and the parents who lost their children must be told the truth.

In the meantime, we make one last tour around the school before we leave.

There are cycles in the school bike shed – half-a-dozen of them. They lie untouched in the dust. Some of them are expensive. Surely a loving parent would have rescued as many of their child's belongings from the school as they could. Does this mean the parents died as well?

On a classroom wall hangs a sign of unbearable poignancy: "The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today".

One world, One Dream

In another classroom, the day's lesson is still on the blackboard. 'One World – One Dream' – the motto of The Olympics. Essays on One World to the left, One Dream to the right, and between them a set of beautifully-chalked drawings of the Olympic mascots – Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini.

We take one final look at the school's Honour Roll. Seventy-seven photos. Beautiful faces. Handsome faces. Plain faces. Smiling faces. Serious faces. Many of them must have been victims of the earthquake, but their faces still look down on the ruins of the school.

There will be no Honour Roll for 2007-08, only the sad toll of the dead.

Dongqi 2006-07 Roll of Honour

The white tiger

Two lions and one tiger are being transported to a zoo by military choppers after they were bereft for 30 days, the Chengdu Evening News reported.

After the Wanguan Group, parent company of the Happy Valley Circus, asked Deyang local government departments for help, authorities agreed to use helicopters to transport the three animals to the Bifengxia Zoo.

Four copters carrying 30 rescuer workers and officials of Shifang's forestry bureau were sent to the circus grounds yesterday to scan the terrain and check on the health of two lions and a tiger. Due to the weakened physical condition of the animals, they couldn't be injected with narcotics so they were transported in cages while sober and alert. Five more experienced breeders were heading to the valley this morning in order to help.

But according to a Xinhua report later this day, a helicopter on the way to Shifang to carry out the wild animal rescue mission today, had to make a forced landing in Siping County at 12:35 p.m. after a mechanical malfunction. All passengers – 13 crew members and relief staff – onboard fortunately were safe.

According to a previous report by Beijing News, armed soldiers were ordered to shoot dead two caged tigers and three lions abandoned by a circus in Shifang City after the May 12 earthquake. Officials were gravely concerned that the animals would escape and threaten survivors.

On June 3, a 2-year-old tiger was shot dead since its cage was fragile. At the same time another white lion starved to death.

The Happy Valley Circus was situated around Yinghua Mountain, Shifang City. Currently the circus has released 20 deer and 10 monkeys into nearby forests. After the quake, landslides and mudslides occurred sporadically, causing the sole road to be destroyed and buildings also collapsed. Over 400 circus workers escaped the area on foot, walking nine hours to safety.

When Chen Qinghua, head of Wanguan Group, was informed that the tiger and lions were still alive, he organized people to try to rescue them.

On June 5, a 5-member team, including 3 breeders, bought 16-kilograms of beef at nearby market, and then walked 10 hours on foot and eventually reached their destination. The two lions and one tiger were barely alive after 25 days without food and water. One breeder said it was a miracle. When they ate the beef, the emaciated animals partially revived.

Sichuan allows prisoners to return home to mourn

Wang Yue never thought she could return to pay tribute to father and nephew who both died in the massive Wenchuan Earthquake on May 12.

Four years ago, she was sentenced to death by a provincial superior court for having committed murder and arson. Later, the sentence was reduced to lifetime imprisonment due to her positive behavior while in jail. Now she is serving out her sentence at the Sichuan Women's Prison.

To ease and comfort the hearts of those prisoners who incurred big losses during the earthquake, the Sichuan Bureau of Prison Administration has initiated a campaign that allows prisoners to temporarily return to their hometowns to mourn their loved ones.

On June 6, Wang Yue, accompanied by two cops, returned home, visited relatives and mourned the deaths of her 73-year-old father and 16-year-old nephew. This unusual campaign was widely launched on June 10, the Chengdu Business Daily reported.

"My father always wanted me to behave well in jail. He said he would wait for the day I left prison and returned home. I never thought he would pass away like this," Wang said, adding that she couldn't believe her ears that she was permitted to go home, at least, for a while.

She and her mother also comforted each other at a village of Juyuan Town. She kneeled down at her father's newly built tomb, crying, "Father, I'm sorry!"

"The disastrous areas were hit harder than I thought, but when I saw that my mother and family had been well taken care of by the government, I felt relieved."

Xie Hongmei, another woman prisoner, also returned to her family in Shifang, an earthquake devastated city. Her father and mother-in-law and nephew were all killed in the earthquake.

An official of the prison said: "This is first time felons have ever returned home like this" since they are still considered to be threats to society and require special approval from provincial administration authorities.

 Red Cross workers listening to residents problems and requests. The organization is eager to be responsive to people's needs.

By John Sexton & Keen Zhang
China.org.cn correspondents reporting from Sichuan

关于红十字在灾区提供干净水的英文报道。真的很厉害。过滤后的水，可以直接饮用，干净程度超过了我们城市里的自来水系统。

今天另外一个大消息就是找到直升飞机了。传奇不再，悲剧终成。

The International Red Cross movement is mounting a major effort to provide clean water and sanitation facilities to quake-hit townships in Sichuan's Mianzhu prefecture as part of ongoing work to prevent a post-disaster epidemic.

Three Emergency Response Units, (ERU), one from Spain, one from the UK and a joint Austrian-French team are carrying out the work. But this understates the multinational nature of the enterprise. The overall coordinator is from Finland, and in keeping with the international spirit of the operation, the leader of the UK team is from Germany. Everything is being done in collaboration with the Chinese Red Cross who will take over the facilities after a few weeks.

The main Red Cross base camp is in Jiulong town, which was virtually leveled in the earthquake, with smaller bases in Xinglong and Banqiao. Jiulong is the hub of an area of scattered farming communities lying on flat land at the foot of the mountains, close to the earthquake epicenter, Wenchuan. Around 400 Juilong residents died in the quake, including more than 150 children who were crushed when their school collapsed.

Tiina Saarikoski, the overall project coordinator, and Jaime Bara, leader of the Spanish team, took us on a tour of their installations in the rubble that was once a town, where many of the residents live in tents erected beside, and sometimes inside, the ruins of their homes. They showed us the traditional wells that may have been polluted by chemical spills and decomposing bodies in the aftermath of the earthquake. Ongoing threats to well water safety are careless disposal of food waste and human excrement. The Red Cross is providing stand pipes to deliver clean and safe water that has been processed by their mobile treatment plants. Simultaneously hundreds of prefabricated toilets are being erected throughout the area.

As we walked, the Red Crossers took every opportunity to explain to residents that basic hygiene is of the utmost importance during the post-quake period. UK team leader Ina Bluemel said "We're spreading the message on how you handle hygiene promotion in an emergency situation. There are a few key messages that can help prevent disease." The local people were extremely welcoming, almost embarrassingly grateful for the assistance offered by the Red Cross.

IFRC Spokesman Francis Markus (left), project coordinator Tiina Saarikoski and Spanish Red Cross team leader Jaime Bara. (Photos taken by Wang Rui.)

Jaime Bara told us he had established an excellent working relationship with the authorities, including the local police chief who, he said, had become his regular lunch companion.

Francis Markus, China spokesman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), explained that the ERU is a basic tool used by the Red Cross to intervene in crisis situations. A combination of up-to-date equipment and skilled personnel, ERUs may have a wide range of functions. In addition to the water and sanitation ERUs in the Jiulong area, the German and Chinese Red Cross societies have jointly provided a field hospital in Dujiangyan, near Chengdu. In all cases, the ERUs are handed over to the local Red Cross movement after a period of training and familiarization.

The leader of the Austrian-French ERU, Werner Meisinger, told us that overseas personnel would probably leave the Jiulong area after four to five weeks; the Chinese Red Cross would continue to operate the facilities for a further four to five months, after which the plant and equipment would be stored for future use by the Chinese Red Cross, possibly to equip Chinese ERUs overseas.

UK Team leader Ina Bluemel told us that they have been overwhelmed by the level of response to their request for volunteers. Not only has every village and settlement delivered more than the required number of volunteers, but many of them have turned out to be skilled engineers. "Our sanitation engineer threw up his hands and said I can't teach them anything," said Ina, "which is a perfect situation for us."

Bluemel emphasized that the Red Cross was working together with villagers, not imposing solutions from above. "We've emphasized letting the community drive the decision making. We've literally asked them what they think is needed most and they came up with shelter first, then latrines, then hand washing, the ladies said they don't have an area where they can wash themselves, so we're going to put up some plastic sheeting that covers them from view."

The Red Cross acknowledges its efforts cannot rival the scale of the government response and they see themselves as complementing and plugging the gaps in the government's work. Evidence of the state commitment to reconstruction could be seen in the fields outside Jiulong where what looked like an entire division of the PLA Navy were on the way to completing construction of a vast area of prefabricated housing. Nearby was a large and orderly tented settlement, housing residents waiting to move in.

今天前往探访了驻扎在绵竹九龙镇、兴隆镇的慈善“多国部队”——红十字会与红新月会国际联合会。幸好跟的是红十字，不然进不去，现在管制得很严格。其实红十字会的车都被拦了一会才让走，并被再三提醒，进去了不能采访。

当然进去了他们就管不着了。只要能进去。

目前，国际红十字正在为当地居民及周边村落提供安全饮用水和卫生设施。

九龙地区的工作站，主要由英国和西班牙的红十字成员组成。他们与中国红十字会合作，从两国运来抽水和净水装备，以及大量的活动厕所。兴隆镇上也有一个类似的国际红十字工作站，以奥地利和法国的工作人员为主。

当地的官员和居民对这些老外很欢迎。老外告诉我们说，他们很受鼓舞。此外，老外们还提及了这次在中国救灾，有与在其它国家不同的感受，那就是：当地政府对他们无比支持，而且从来不缺人手——因为中国人口足够多，志愿者纷纷前来。

九龙镇是基本被夷平了，99%的建筑垮塌，惨状和上次去的汉旺差不多。唐山的支援队就驻扎在这里，不过他们觉得有点力不从心，或者说，大材小用了。因为来的，都是唐山那边选的精英中的精英医师，但呆在这里，受条件限制，只能做点简单的包扎手术，这样子。他们很想发挥更大的热量，才不辱使命，以及源自当年类似经历的感同身受和巨大同情。

最后，又在九龙镇上看到了又一个坍塌的学校。废墟前排满了花圈，学校上空挂着横幅，写着悲痛欲绝却些许敏感的文字。

3点半的时候，又余震了。