Normalcy returns as impact of quake fades

By Huang Zhiling (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-09 17:07

Xu Jiao, a middle-aged taxi driver in the capital city of Sichuan province, says he's happy whenever he sees old women dance in a square near a famous food street in western Chengdu.

For a while there was no room for dancing - it was the site of temporary shelters. "It had tents of different colors and sizes after the May 12 earthquake. With the last tent disappearing from the square about one month after the quake, it shows that life has returned to normal in Chengdu," Xu said.

He also cited the example of his young neighbor Yin Lan to show how even the most vulnerable Chengdu residents have left the quake behind.

Yin was cleaning her apartment when the quake struck. The violent shaking made her think doomsday was coming.

Although she escaped the six-story building unscathed, Yin became sensitive to any sound even after she consulted a psychologist at the famous West China Hospital of Sichuan University. She was so terrified that when someone moved a chair she was startled and tried to find out whether it was the sound of an aftershock.

Not daring to stay indoors, she was the last to dismantle her tent outside the residential quarter where she lived.

As time passed and no aftershocks were felt, Yin's life has returned to normal.

In fact daily life in Chengdu returned normalcy less than one month after the quake.

At 9 pm, visitors to the Ximen outlet of French supermarket Auchan are surprised to find a huge number of shoppers and often have to battle their way through the crowd. Shop assistants say the supermarket has been like this since about 15 days after the quake.

About one month after the quake, cinemas, museums, libraries, concert halls, restaurants and bars in Chengdu resumed normal operations.

Late at night, visitors to the alleyways in the city center are impressed with throngs of diners and tea drinkers sitting outside small restaurants and bars.

The alleys comprising courtyards built in the style of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911) opened to the public on June 14, which was the country's third cultural heritage day, to boost development of the local tourism sector affected by the quake.

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