Exactly 11 months ago on 13 Jun 2007, we were at 萝卜寨 (Luobo Village) in 茂县 (Maoxian), which is the oldest village of the Qiang minority tribe, characterised by yellow mud houses (the walls of which are mixed with cow dung for warmth in winter).
It was one of the most enjoyable of my trips, ever. I mean it ... the remoteness of the place (that translates to tranquility ... and after two days of fighting aggressive Chinese tourists at 九寨沟 I could really use some peace and quiet), the uniqueness of the culture, the friendly people, the fun we had fooling around and the ever-smiling girl in the picture here ... sigh ...
Yesterday, 茂县 was devastated by the Sichuan Great Earthquake. I'm pretty sure 萝卜寨 wasn't spared. I wonder how these great people we met 11 months ago are doing ... how my friend is doing in 成都. Gosh, there were still aftershocks measuring up to 6.1 this afternoon! People are still afraid to go home.
Hope the rescue efforts will not suffer any further setback. Hope things will return to normal soon. The Chinese Red Cross is appealing for donations.
Everyone pictured here (except for us and the kids in the centre picture) are from 萝卜寨 in 茂县. The fact that I've visited this region and Chengdu before puts this particular earthquake incident much closer to my heart. I'm following the developments very closely and I must say Twitter is a pretty neat tool for bits and pieces of news from Chengdu, and kudos to the Shanghaiist for their prompt updates.
At least I know now the pandas at Wolong are safe.
