Build a city, build love

angelamiqi

Build a city, build love




“The horrible disaster changed our lives.” a local senior student Rain said these words to me, when I was a volunteer and visiting student of Rebuilding Lixian (四川理县), a program aiming to rebuild post-earthquake area and enhance the communication between the students of Lixian and Hunan, in the summer of 2010. In May 12, 2008, an 8.0 earthquake, an unpredictable disaster, came to Sichuan, a southern province in China, and this cataclysm ruined everything, house, buildings, and city heating system. Two years later, when I came there as a volunteer, a large number of new cities has been emerged, with organized planning.




During the training session of the volunteering in Lixian, we were told that we would be lucky to see the designs of these cities and had opportunities to communicate with the designers. I had imagined for day and night what the designs would be like, and turned from side to side in the bed before the day of our appointment with designers, hardly could fell asleep. On the following day, in an office building with fancy decoration, several designers stepped in and unfolded sketches of these cities carefully on the table to show us. It was my first time to be close to this kind of drawings, or can be called artworks, and my excitement was beyond words. These designs just like books which describe these cities vividly and delicately, showed us with details ranging from the location of public facilities such as schools or hospitals, to the plans about that how wide the roads should be and where should be planted trees. The thing impressed me most the overall city running-water supply system which haven't been used before in this area. And the designer Paul agreed to bring us to visit a part of it which was still in construction. Rain, the local student mentioned at the beginning, also followed us. During the visiting progress, Rain told me:“I live in a valley which needs several hours walk to the town centre. Before earthquake, I had to get up as early as 5o'clock to climb molehills to draw water from a scream for my family, and then be hurry up to run to school which begin at eight. When it was rains, the condition was even more terrible. However, after the rebuilding of this area, we can obtain running water whenever we want. The only thing we need to do is to open the tap! So I needn't get up so early now and I have more time to study. I don't want to thank to this disaster because it destroyed our houses and family, but, well, these changes make me feel beloved.” These words really moved me a lot.




After I flew back to Changsha, beginning a school term, I found that some parts of my heart were lost in the river, the mountains, and the city of Lixian. I believe that with the work of rebuilding in post-earthquake aera, the live standard of people there will improve. And one day in the future, I will be back. Back to Lixian，back to my friends’ side, back to the place filled with love.







Aug. 12, 2010




Hu Yingda

The First High School of Changsha, Hunan

Class 6, Grade 11th


E-mail: huxuexue@gmail.com




湖南省长沙市第一中学

高二（6）班 胡颖荙                                       


信箱： huxuexue@gmail.com