The day after the earthquake, everything seems back to normal in Chengdu… dumplings seller fruit stand Tweet This Post
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earthquake April 20, 2012
A 6.6 earthquake struck Sichuan at 8:02 this morning, centered in the Lushan area near Yaan, which is 90 minutes by car from Chengdu. epicenter My 15th-floor apartment started shaking just after 8 AM this morning – the dog panicked when the tremors grew stronger. I was just getting ready to go out, but instead we escaped the apartment and walked all the way down using the stairs. I saw other people crowding into the elevators and thought – what idiots, that’s the last place you want to be in an earthquake. People stood around outside, in the streets and on sidewalks, for about an hour, until the fear of strong aftershocks subsided. I watched a TV mounted outside the gate to an apartment complex, to find out where the quake happened; it was initially reported as 7.0. There were no live pictures on the TV news after I got home, so I went to my IELTS job to mark writing exams for a couple of hours. As of now, 56 are confirmed dead, and there’s extensive damage in the quake zone. You can read more here: http://www.itv.com/news/story/2013-04-20/deadly-earthquake-in-china/#devastation-after-deadly-earthquake-hits-china_192036 earthquake damage Tweet This Post
night sidewalk
blurred night view, busy sidewalk near the Bell Tower, Xian, November 2012 Tweet This Post
three days in Xian
Bell Tower, Xian I’ve been sick for about 3 weeks, ever since i got back from Xian. The air quality in Xian seemed to be particularly nasty, resulting in breathing problems and an allergy attack. After my return to Chengdu and a week around students with colds and winter coughs, my allergies turned into a chest cold. I’m starting to recover now, but I’ve pretty much spent my free time in bed, when not working. crowned head, Muslim quarter, Xian In Xian, I missed the attraction that the whole world flocks there to see, namely, the Terracotta Warriors. A colleague told me that it was, indeed, a stupefying sight, thousands upon thousands of silent sentinels, unearthed after a couple of millenia, guarding the tomb of of the Qin emperor who unified China. Next time, for sure. Muslim restaurant I stayed at the Hantang Inn Hostel my first night – a comfortable and friendly place in an alley near the city center. After walking through the Muslim Quarter and then visiting the Wild Goose Pagoda, I was exhausted. On the way back to the hostel I stopped at a small noodle restaurant and ate the best chicken soup with dumplings of my life. It was a bowl of soup to celebrate and to rhapsodize over, but sadly I never made it back for a second bowl. Another Muslim restaurant Getting to the Wild Goose Pagoda was an effort, involving a subway ride
