After the taxi experiments, since we were still unable to get in touch with the Maoxian (茂縣) friends that we met in Ruoergai (若爾蓋), we decided to continue down the road to Wenchuan (汶川), the next stop on our southern route back to Chengdu (成都). Larry, once again, had already walked on ahead, while we slowed when we saw a Tibetan sword shop along the way. We went in to take a look:
The lady at the counter, presumably the owner, was cooking some radish soup, and the delectable smell had wafted to our noses.
"That is some good soup you have there," Baba said to her.
"Yes indeed!" She replied.
"Is it radish soup?"
"That is correct. Did you want to buy something?"
We bought some yak bone chopsticks from her (which we found out later to be just plastic), but still she did not offer any soup.
We continued on our way, but soon, Baba managed to flag down a bread van. "I'm just going up the road, all that far," the driver explains, "but I can take you guys up a bit further."
"We have one more ahead - if you don't mind, can you pick him up as well?"
"Sure."
We drive on ahead, and slowed as we neared Larry. Larry had turned around and stuck out his thumb, and assumed had flagged down the car with his ubiquitous charm. When he opened the door, and saw us, he was shocked. "I thought I got one!" he exclaimed.
"You might have, but we made sure we got it for you!"
"I'm not getting in!" he cried with mock pride. He closed the door and continued walking ahead. Unable persuade him, Baba and I thanked the driver and left as well, watching wistfully as it drives away:
"Was the car going all the way to Wenchuan?" Larry asked.
"Yes," we lied.
"Yeah right," Larry countered, smelling the fib.
Baba changed the subject. "Did you see the Tibetan Sword shop?"
"Yes."
"She was cooking some good radish soup."
"Oh really? Did you get any?"
"No, she didn't offer..."
"Well if you wanted soup, you should've just asked her!" Larry laughed.
Just then, the phone rang, and it was our friends from Maoxian! They had turned off their phones until now, but have time to show us around now. So we decided to turn around and head back to Maoxian.
In a few minutes, we managed to flag down another ride.
The driver was a Qiang girl named Ms. Zhai (翟):
She was driving a very crude vehicle that looked like it was used to carry industrial supplies or something. We were surprised that she would pick up three strangers in the middle of nowhere by herself and give them a ride back, but the people in Maoxian (and in general, the earthquake devastated regions) have been very nice and welcoming throughout. As per our friend HeiShui JinHua’s (黑水金花) instructions, which we communicated to her as she drove, she dropped us back to the other bridge we were previously at. It was the same place where we were 3 hours ago!
HeiShui Jinhua called again and told us to follow the road to the left. Soon, we came across the blue temporary shelters, which were built right on the road:
It was rather ingenius - where else amid the mountains would you have all this flat, paved area to build on top of? Plus, the road was still wide enough to allow traffic to pass through in both directions.
We continued down the road, and had a chance to see the shelters up close:
Many of them were empty, but it has been six months (in fact, two days ago was the half-year anniversary of the Sichuan Earthquake) since the quake happened, and so it is understandable that many have moved out of the temporary shelters.
Inside, they were spartan in their furnishings, basically some concrete floors and tables, with a few connections for electrical power and perhaps water. It was one big room, with windows and a door. Interesting enough, there were some XiaoMaiBus (小賣部) based in some of the temporary residences. It is important to have business everywhere, even here. There were also first aid stations here and there.
After passing a couple intersections, we saw our friends in front. It was HeiShui JinHua (黑水金花 - "Blackwater Golden Flower"), her Qiang sister-in-law Yang Shiu Mei (杨秀妹), and another woman we did not recognize.
"I'm so sorry I didn't have my phone turned on!" apologized JinHua. She greeted us warmly and even took Larry’s pack off his shoulders to carry for him. She then pointed to the third woman, introducing her, "This is my younger sister, HeiShui YinHua (黑水銀花 - 'Blackwater Silver Flower')."
We first headed over to see Yang Xiu Mei’s house, which was somewhat damaged by the earthquake:
Inside the house:
From left to right - HeiShui JinHua, Yang Xiu Mei, HeiShui YinHua:
They bade us to sit and got us water and snacks. We declined out of politeness - after all, their lives were hard enough as it was, and we should be the ones offering them water and snacks if we had any.
Then HeiShui JinHua offered to take us up to her house, which was up on the mountains. We follow behind.
Much of the land there is used for farming, and we saw a few plantations next to the path:
On the way up, JinHua points out some of the nicer buildings that are still standing.
“These are the buildings that the people with money have built – they were built before the earthquake, and look, they are still standing! Our buildings are so poor, their standards are so low. If we had buildings like these, we would be fine.”
"Houses in the mountains are more prone to collapse than those down on the bottom," we observed.
"Yes that is true. But we don't have enough money to afford houses down there. We can only afford poorly built houses in bad locations."
"Why weren't you able to get a better piece of the land when the government was divvying it up?"
"We missed out because we aren't originally from this area. We only got here 8 years ago, and so we did not get a share of the land below the hill."
"What do you do for a living?"
"My husband and I both work in construction repairing houses. I make 45 RMB ($6.60 USD) a day, though room and board is provided."
"What about your husband?"
"He only makes slightly more, 60 RMB ($8.80 USD) a day."
"How long are your hours?"
"We work 10 hours a day, from 8am to 6pm."
"Is it okay then that you're here showing us around instead of at work?"
"Don't worry about it - I already did some digging and rock-moving this morning. I can go back to work later."
She guides us past a bunch of buildings in shambles on the way up. They were all JinHua’s neighbors.
At a couple sites, the door was the only structure left standing:
As we walk past another pile of ruins, JinHua points it out to us. Her neighbors lived there – it’s also where they lost their sons in the earthquake. One was 13, the other 14. They were crushed by the falling rocks.
"Where are your kids now?" we asked JinHua.
"Our kids are all in Baxi. We were lucky on the day of the earthquake - they were on their way back to school after stopping at home for lunch when it happened. As for my husband and I, we were in Ruoergai at the time, fixing up houses. The road from Songpan to Maoxian was completely impassable then, and we were very worried for a long time."
We finally got to JinHua’s house (structure in the back):
Like most Tibetan homes, it was guarded by a Tibetan Mastiff chained to a post.
There, we met one of JinHua’s relatives and her three year old daughter. JinHua shows us around. She points up to one of the structures and said, “This is the old house. We’re going to take this one down.”
“Why don’t you repair it,” we asked.
“It’s beyond repair. Take a look.”
It was in pretty bad shape. The roof was broken, the walls looked unsteady, and a makeshift frame was used to hold it up. “So where do you live now?” we ask her. She points to the building next door, which looks in slightly better shape.
Next we continue onto a section where only the walls were standing. JinHua motioned to the wall on her right:
“This wall had fallen down during the earthquake. Since this was the bedroom, if the earthquake happened at night, and if I was back in Maoxian sleeping at the time, I would have been crushed by the rocks.”
After that, she shows us around to the back, where there were some animal pens. “We lost pretty much all our livestock during the earthquake. That included 50 chickens and two small pigs.”
“But I thought chickens could fly!” Larry said.
“The door was closed they had nowhere to go…” she explained.
After the tour, she brought us back to the front, and said, “You guys are here after coming from so far... but I’m so embarrassed; I have nothing prepared for you.”
“It is okay!” we reassured her.
“Why don’t you guys stay for a bit? I’ll make a meal.”
“No that’s quite alright.”
“No, please stay, I’ll be done in a few minutes.”
“No, we’ve taken too much of your time. We know you’re busy and have to get back to work.”
“Oh come on… “
“We ought to really get going…”
“I have this bag of dates…”
“Okay, we can take with, but we really shouldn’t use up much more of your time…”
Just then, another man steps into the house. JinHua introduces him. “This is my younger brother… he’s helping with repairs.”
“Nice to meet you!” we called to him.
“Why don’t you stay for a meal?” he asked.
“Maybe next time.”
“Alright.”
“Why don’t we take a picture together?”
And we do so, before taking our leave:
"Thanks so much for coming by!"
"Thank you for the tour!"
"Let us know if you're ever back here!"
Thoughts:
- It is at times like this that I'm at a loss for how to properly help. Sure, we can lend financial support, but besides the fact JinHua doesn't seem like the type who would take charity (see Ruoergai), there are so many in the same situation. I could have stayed longer and personally helped out in some way, though unlike six months ago, it's no longer an urgent crisis anymore. True, there are other things I can do such as help with the rebuilding (though I don't have any experience in it), or teach them certain skills, but it seems just as important for me to keep moving and see more of the situation here. Perhaps the most important thing I can do is simply continue to visit, observe, record, and publish the account of my journeys through this area at this time, and continue to raise awareness of the situation.
- As unfortunate as JinHua was, she was lucky compared to many of her neighbors. Miraculously, everyone in her family is unharmed, and she still has some sort of a shelter she can stay in.
- A minor observation: It seems regardless of how poor the villagers are here, they all seemed to have invested in phone and satellite dish for TV. Both Yang Shiu Mei and JinHua had cell phones. Communication and connection to the outside world is important to people here in the countryside, one of the few extra things they would pay for given their limited finances.
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