https://www.scmp.com/rss/324948/feed On May 12, 2008, a magnitude-8 earthquake hit the Sichuan region leaving 87,000 dead, 370,000 injured and 5 million homeless. The quake-prone area has suffered many tremors since, including a magnitude-7 quake on August 8, 2017 which left 24 dead and 493 injured. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com My love of photography started at school, in the 1980s, and led to an eventful career with the South China Morning Post, spanning 34 years. My first camera was a Nikon FM2. It cost me HK$1,800. In those days before the digital revolution, everything was done manually, from focusing to setting the aperture and shutter speed. We used 35mm film. After a spell with the Hong Kong Standard, first as a darkroom technician and then as a photographer, I was hired by the Post in 1989. I was delighted to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3240528/chasing-after-perfect-shot-post-photographer-34-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3240528/chasing-after-perfect-shot-post-photographer-34-years?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Nov 2023 10:30:13 +0000 Some 84 hours before a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck off the Alaska Peninsula on July 16, a team of researchers in China may have seen the quake coming but could not pinpoint where and when it would hit. Now they hope to broaden their research net to make more accurate quake predictions possible. Zhang Maosheng, a professor and dean at Xian Jiaotong University in Shaanxi province and a researcher for China’s Ministry of Natural Resources, received a text alert declaring an abnormal data... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3229232/could-chinese-researchers-crack-code-earthquake-prediction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3229232/could-chinese-researchers-crack-code-earthquake-prediction?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Aug 2023 14:00:13 +0000 Pictures of a Chinese firefighter holding a two-month-old survivor of the recent Sichuan earthquake have become all the more poignant after it was revealed the man was also saved by a fireman after a devastating 2008 earthquake. That magnitude-8 quake hit Sichuan, southwestern China, leaving 87,000 dead, 370,000 injured and five million homeless. Firefighter Zhang Zili from Wenchuan county in Sichuan was photographed helping villagers move to safety on Tuesday, a day after a 6.8-magnitude... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3191833/legacy-love-firefighter-saves-baby-sichuan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3191833/legacy-love-firefighter-saves-baby-sichuan?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Sep 2022 10:22:50 +0000 A male pig in China that became a symbol of hope in the aftermath of the devastating 2008 Sichuan earthquake died on Wednesday at the age of 14, according to the museum that looked after the animal. The museum said the pig died peacefully of “exhaustion” and “old age”. The pig was named Zhu Jianqiang, meaning “Strong-willed Pig”, after it was discovered amid rubble having survived for 36 days in the aftermath of the 7.9 magnitude quake that left nearly 90,000 people dead or missing and another... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3137857/chinas-strong-willed-pig-became-symbol-hope-after-sichuan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3137857/chinas-strong-willed-pig-became-symbol-hope-after-sichuan?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Jun 2021 07:37:05 +0000 2021 has already proven to be a year of serious historical events, but that does not mean it lacks whimsy.  Here are three of the quirkiest stories from China to start this year.  The tale of a celebrity pig This swine has been through everything, surviving the odds to become a national icon and a sign of Chinese resilience after being buried alive for more than a month in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Now, 12 years on, fans of ‘Zhu Jianqiang’ meaning ‘Strong Pig’ are cheering for the survival of... https://www.scmp.com/society/three-quirkiest-stories-add-some-whimsy-your-2021/article/3117898?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/three-quirkiest-stories-add-some-whimsy-your-2021/article/3117898?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Jan 2021 10:48:43 +0000 Liu Yanlu was a 16-year-old preparing for university life when, on May 12, 2008, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck Sichuan in southwest China, killing more than 70,000 people, including more than 5,000 schoolchildren. Like many young survivors, the disaster shaped her working life. Some chose architecture to design buildings that would survive the region’s quakes, while others, like Liu, from the provincial capital Chengdu, decided to study medicine. The girl had who started primary school a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3036971/sichuan-earthquake-cutting-edge-science-how-young-chinese-woman?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3036971/sichuan-earthquake-cutting-edge-science-how-young-chinese-woman?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Nov 2019 11:36:07 +0000 A young man who survived the devastating Sichuan earthquake and was inspired by the soldiers who spent months rescuing people from the rubble will on Tuesday join a squad of airborne troops as part of the country’s 70th anniversary celebrations. Now 23, Cheng Qiang was just 12 when on May 12, 2008 he and a group of friends played truant from school to go swimming in a local river, Xinhua reported on Thursday. When the boys had finished their fun they returned to their village in the township of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3030519/sichuan-earthquake-survivor-ready-join-his-airborne-heroes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3030519/sichuan-earthquake-survivor-ready-join-his-airborne-heroes?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Sep 2019 10:17:08 +0000 A popular Chinese comedian has apologised after his jokes about some of the country’s most devastating earthquakes and the fate of wartime “comfort women” fell flat. Video clips of performances by Zhang Yunlei from last year went viral on Sunday, the 11th anniversary of the Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan, which left 87,000 people dead or missing. In one clip, Zhang joked about three sisters getting married, each one in a part of China struck by huge natural disasters which left thousands of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3010011/chinese-comics-earthquake-jokes-cause-offence-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3010011/chinese-comics-earthquake-jokes-cause-offence-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 May 2019 08:44:42 +0000 A television news anchor in southwest China has apologised after he gained online fame for calmly continuing a broadcast as a 5.1-magnitude earthquake shook the city of Xichang in Sichuan province. “Wait, wait, don’t panic – let’s finish the broadcast,” He Kun, the news anchor at a Sichuan television station, was seen telling studio staff in a video widely shared online. His calm demeanour made him an instant hit on Chinese social media. “Sichuan people have become immune to earthquakes,” wrote... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2171284/chinese-man-calmest-tv-news-anchor-or-what?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2171284/chinese-man-calmest-tv-news-anchor-or-what?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Nov 2018 13:17:08 +0000 Five survivors of the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake faced more than physical challenges when they lost limbs in the tragedy. Some thought they would never walk again, and others considered taking their own lives. But now they have taken part in the Lantau Trail 70-kilometre ultramarathon. Saturday was particularly hot for this time of year and the brutal course took its toll on many runners, including the amputees, Hu Yue, Niu Yu, Ma Yuanjiang, Wie Yunlu and Li Yingxia. They could not finish the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/2170606/sichuan-earthquake-survivors-run-lantau-trail-70-despite?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/2170606/sichuan-earthquake-survivors-run-lantau-trail-70-despite?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Oct 2018 03:30:45 +0000 South China Morning Post reports on the scene of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake upon the tenth anniversary of one of China's worst natural disasters. Presenter: Mimi Lau Voices: Bong Miquiabas, Naomi Ng, Alan Wong Producers: Jarrod Watt, James Legge https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/2168900/inside-china-podcast-1-sichuan-earthquake-10-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/podcasts/article/2168900/inside-china-podcast-1-sichuan-earthquake-10-years?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Oct 2018 16:00:00 +0000 When Anthony Fung signed up to a 3-kilometre Spartan Race to keep his daughter company almost two years ago, he never would have imagined he would now be running 70km alongside earthquake survivors. But that is what he will do in October, when he takes on the Lantau Trail 70 race in aid of Stand Tall, a charity that rehabilitates those affected by the Sichuan earthquake 10 years ago. Stand Tall will help amputees come to Hong Kong and race with Fung, as he tackles the entire course and they run... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/2159946/sichuan-earthquake-10-years-hongkonger-run-lantau-trail?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/2159946/sichuan-earthquake-10-years-hongkonger-run-lantau-trail?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Aug 2018 03:00:15 +0000 When Niu Yu had her leg amputated at the age of 11 after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake caused her school to collapse, her mind was already thinking ahead to what she could do, rather than what she couldn’t.  “The body needs exercise or the leg muscle will shrink,” said Yu. “But also, I hoped that I could be more brave and strong.” It was on the anniversary of the disaster that Niu took on the Wenchuan half marathon.  “I believe the disaster of the past is over, I am even more than it now,” she... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/2146790/past-over-niu-yu-runs-wenchuan-marathon-decade-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/2146790/past-over-niu-yu-runs-wenchuan-marathon-decade-after?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 May 2018 08:57:25 +0000 A decade after an earthquake killed 87,000 people, China’s investment in disaster preparedness means a similar loss of life is unlikely, say experts who urged other Asian nations to follow suit. The massive quake that rocked China’s southwestern province of Sichuan on the afternoon of May 12, 2008, left about 10,000 children dead, many buried under rubble when their schools collapsed. With almost 5 million people homeless and facing a public backlash in the aftermath of the quake, China has... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2146021/china-leads-asia-quake-preparedness-after-sichuan-disaster-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2146021/china-leads-asia-quake-preparedness-after-sichuan-disaster-says?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 May 2018 07:15:45 +0000 Reading between the lines is necessary when it comes to Beijing’s narrative on major policies, including those about Hong Kong under “one country, two systems”.  Here comes the latest question: is Beijing softening its tone towards the city?  This was the impression some got when Zhang Xiaoming, Beijing’s top official in charge of the city’s affairs, delivered a speech on Friday conveying the latest “four-point” guidelines from a “central government leader”. Zhang emphasised the need to achieve... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2145912/beijing-softening-its-tone-towards-hong-kong-major-policies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2145912/beijing-softening-its-tone-towards-hong-kong-major-policies?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 May 2018 08:05:53 +0000 Hong Kong’s top official has said reporters have a right to lawful news gathering after a journalist from the city was beaten by two men in Sichuan province. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s remarks came after two men apologised to Chan Ho-fai of i-Cable News over the incident on Saturday at a press briefing arranged by Sichuan authorities. Speaking after her visit to the province, Lam said city officials had “immediately called for an investigation”, contacting the State Council’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2145898/carrie-lam-voices-concerns-over-violent-attack-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2145898/carrie-lam-voices-concerns-over-violent-attack-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 May 2018 05:29:51 +0000 The 10th anniversary of the earthquake in Sichuan that killed more than 87,000 people was marked in the southwestern province on Saturday amid tight security, as bereaved parents and survivors paid their respects. An official memorial ceremony was held outside the Xuankou Middle School in Yingxiu township, Wenchuan county – the epicentre of the magnitude-8 quake that devastated the province on May 12, 2008.  Wreaths with yellow flowers were laid at the memorial site where the hands of a broken... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2145818/bereaved-parents-and-survivors-remember-victims-sichuan-quake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2145818/bereaved-parents-and-survivors-remember-victims-sichuan-quake?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 May 2018 14:00:30 +0000 A Hong Kong television journalist was kicked and beaten by two men in mainland China’s southwestern Sichuan province on Saturday while reporting on the 10th anniversary of a deadly earthquake. By the evening, mainland authorities brought two men before the media after Hong Kong officials expressed concerns about the assault. The pair apologised to the injured reporter, Chan Ho-fai. Chan, a reporter with broadcaster i-Cable News, was standing outside Juyuan Middle School in Dujiangyan, located... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/2145842/hong-kong-i-cable-tv-journalist-reporting-10th-anniversary-sichuan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/2145842/hong-kong-i-cable-tv-journalist-reporting-10th-anniversary-sichuan?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 May 2018 07:34:29 +0000 China’s top emergency management official will be a notable absence from the events taking place in Sichuan province on Saturday to commemorate the 2008 earthquake that claimed the lives of 87,000 people. Wang Yupu, who was named head of the newly created Emergency Management Ministry in March, had been ill for some time, but his condition worsened significantly about the time of the Lunar New Year in mid-February, sources told the South China Morning Post. The 61-year-old, who is also a member... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2145839/chinas-emergency-management-chief-miss-sichuan-memorial?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2145839/chinas-emergency-management-chief-miss-sichuan-memorial?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 May 2018 05:32:09 +0000 A young girl was sobbing uncontrollably when Timothy To Wing-ching spotted her inside a Chinese military camp set up for victims of the deadly 2008 Sichuan earthquake. The Hongkonger and his group of 12 other counselling professionals had arrived in Wenchuan county about two weeks after the magnitude 8 earthquake devastated Sichuan, killing more than 80,000 people, injuring 370,000 and leaving 4.8 million people homeless. Hong Kong volunteers head for Sichuan quake zone to provide... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2145725/2008-sichuan-earthquake-still-fresh-minds-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2145725/2008-sichuan-earthquake-still-fresh-minds-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 May 2018 03:30:31 +0000 May 12, 2008, 2.28pm. On this day a decade ago, a magnitude-8 earthquake struck southwestern China, tearing towns and cities asunder. Powerful shock waves erupted from the epicentre in Wenchuan county, spreading rapidly across Sichuan province. One of the worst quakes in the nation’s history, it left 87,000 people dead, 370,000 injured and 5 million homeless. That year was to have been China’s coming-out party as a world superpower, having emerged relatively unscathed in a global financial... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2145744/sichuan-earthquake-10-years-how-tragedy-changed-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2145744/sichuan-earthquake-10-years-how-tragedy-changed-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 May 2018 22:03:37 +0000 May 12, 2008, dawned with China counting down the days to the Beijing Olympic Games, a proudly anticipated celebration of the country’s emergence on the world stage. The Olympic torch relay had already passed through Hong Kong on its way to Beijing. Within a week it was to be suspended by a grieving nation for three days of national mourning. Mid-afternoon on this day 10 years ago, with children in classrooms and people at work, a magnitude 8 earthquake seared the date into the national psyche.... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2145824/lessons-sichuan-earthquake-must-not-be-forgotten?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2145824/lessons-sichuan-earthquake-must-not-be-forgotten?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 May 2018 20:33:49 +0000 Pan Xiaoai was just days from turning 10 when she heard the story of her birth. Sitting in bed at her home in the city of Dujiangyan in southwestern China’s Sichuan province, Xiaoai was speechless as her mother, Zhang Xiaoyan, recounted the 52 excruciating hours she lay buried under the debris of a seven-storey flat, heavily pregnant with the little girl. “I couldn’t pity myself,” Zhang said. “I just kept thinking that the most pitiful one was the little baby girl inside me who would soon die... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2145769/our-little-miracle-children-and-childless-sichuan-earthquake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2145769/our-little-miracle-children-and-childless-sichuan-earthquake?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 May 2018 14:01:46 +0000 Hong Kong moved to deepen ties with Sichuan through a raft of new cooperative projects ahead of the 10th anniversary of a devastating earthquake that struck the southwestern province. Officials from both sides signed an agreement for 29 projects across fields such as technology innovation, education, tourism and transport after a high-level delegation from Hong Kong, led by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, travelled to provincial capital Chengdu on Friday. The deal would build on a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2145786/hong-kong-signs-deal-projects-sichuan-ahead-quake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2145786/hong-kong-signs-deal-projects-sichuan-ahead-quake?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 May 2018 12:02:38 +0000 Official statistics say that more than five thousand students died after schools collapsed during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Unofficial counts put the number far higher. Ten years on, families grieving the loss of their only children are still seeking the reasons behind the collapse of so many schools. https://www.scmp.com/china/did-shoddy-construction-doom-students-sichuan-earthquake/article/2145756?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/did-shoddy-construction-doom-students-sichuan-earthquake/article/2145756?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 May 2018 10:30:00 +0000 By all accounts, 2008 was a banner year for China. For the first time, China was hosting the Olympic Games, that badge of honor that separated what comedian Ali Wong calls “jungle Asian” from “fancy Asian.” “The fancy Asians are the Chinese, the Japanese. They get to do fancy things like host Olympics. Jungle Asians host …diseases.” sniffs Wong. Indeed, in five short years China made the leap from hosting the SARS epidemic to hosting its coming-out party, which was what media had dubbed the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/mei-fong-china-10-years-after-sichuan-earthquake/article/2145696?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/mei-fong-china-10-years-after-sichuan-earthquake/article/2145696?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 May 2018 10:18:52 +0000 Ten years after a massive earthquake hit Sichuan, many Chinese are still wondering if the thousands of students killed under the rubble of schoolrooms could have survived. “It could only be human error that the school would crumble into pieces,” said pig farmer Sang Jun, 49, whose 11-year-old son, along with 125 other pupils, died in a primary school in the city of Mianzhu. The more than 7,000 schools destroyed in the tremors became the deadliest places to be in the 2008 quake. More than 5,300... https://www.scmp.com/china/parents-call-investigation-shoddy-school-buildings-sichuan-earthquake-anniversary/article/2145722?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/parents-call-investigation-shoddy-school-buildings-sichuan-earthquake-anniversary/article/2145722?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 May 2018 10:15:30 +0000 Sichuan province has been steadily rebuilding after the devastating 2008 earthquake. But one dark spot has marred the success of China’s reconstruction efforts after the disaster. In the wake of the national tragedy, China received an outpouring of help and support from around the world. Within a month after the quake, the country had received $7 billion in donations. By the end of 2009, the figure had reached almost $42 billion, according to the National Audit Office. But not all the money was... https://www.scmp.com/china/embezzled-funds-and-charities-crisis-hit-reputation-sichuan-quake-relief/article/2145738?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/embezzled-funds-and-charities-crisis-hit-reputation-sichuan-quake-relief/article/2145738?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 May 2018 10:15:30 +0000 No one in China’s Sichuan province had any idea that their lives would be forever changed on May 12, 2008. On that fateful day, the southwestern province was hit by a magnitude-8 earthquake. 87,000 people lost their lives, and homes and schools were reduced to rubble. Those who survived lost almost everything, and had to rebuild their lives from scratch. These three survivors told us what happened to them after the disaster. Miracle Baby Pan Xiaoai, 10, knew little of what her mother, Zhang... https://www.scmp.com/society/survivors-earthquake-shook-china/article/2145714?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/survivors-earthquake-shook-china/article/2145714?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 May 2018 10:15:00 +0000 The 2008 Sichuan earthquake claimed 87,000 lives. But as many as 30,000 of them could have been saved if the region had had an early warning system, according to a Chinese government-backed earthquake research center, the Institute of Care-Life. Since then, China has invested heavily in studying earthquakes to minimize casualties and devastation.  Here’s what the country has learned. Warn early After the 2008 quake, the national earthquake administration injected $300 million (2 billion yuan)... https://www.scmp.com/china/what-china-learned-sichuan-earthquake/article/2145745?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/what-china-learned-sichuan-earthquake/article/2145745?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 May 2018 10:09:21 +0000 For 10 long years, grieving father Sang Jun has been clinging to a promise made by former premier Wen Jiabao to give parents an explanation for why their children were killed. Sang’s 11-year-old son Sang Xingpeng was among the 126 children who died when Fuxin No.2 Primary School collapsed as a magnitude-8 earthquake devastated much of Sichuan province, including the small city of Mianzhu, on May 12, 2008. Just 175 pupils survived. “Two days after the quake, Wen Jiabao came to Hanwang township... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2145583/bring-bodies-grieving-sichuan-parents-still-looking-answers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2145583/bring-bodies-grieving-sichuan-parents-still-looking-answers?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 May 2018 04:02:43 +0000 A decade on, Wang Lirong still has nightmares about the day her house collapsed. It was just after lunch at 2.28pm, on May 12, 2008 when one of China’s deadliest earthquakes struck southwestern Sichuan province, razing her home in the town of Yingxiu, Wenchuan county. The shock waves from the magnitude-8 quake tore through the town, where Wang was sitting at home with her two-year-old daughter and uncle. Sichuan earthquake, 10 years on: how a tragedy changed China At first she thought it was a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2145551/rebuilding-after-sichuan-earthquake-one-brick-and-one-life-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2145551/rebuilding-after-sichuan-earthquake-one-brick-and-one-life-time?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 May 2018 00:01:02 +0000 A social media channel in China has been strongly criticised online for promoting a photo shoot with attractive models on the theme of the Sichuan earthquake, a newspaper reported. The channel on the messaging app WeChat invited photographers to pay 999 yuan (US$157) to take pictures during the shoot called “Blooms in the Rubble”, marking the 10th anniversary of the disaster, Beijing Morning Post reported. The shoot was to take place in the middle of this month at an abandoned coal mine to the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2145311/anger-over-sichuan-earthquake-themed-model-photo-shoot?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2145311/anger-over-sichuan-earthquake-themed-model-photo-shoot?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 May 2018 04:40:58 +0000 Brilliantly polished playing from the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, energetically led by their Italian principal conductor, Fabio Luisi, impressed in this Hong Kong Arts Festival highlight. They opened their concert programme in thrilling fashion, vividly conjuring the turbulence of raging seas in Richard Wagner’s Overture to Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman). Written just ahead of the opera’s first performance in 1843, the overture presents Leitmotifs (leading motifs)... https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2138223/danish-orchestra-chinese-soloist-dazzle-sichuan-quake-inspired?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2138223/danish-orchestra-chinese-soloist-dazzle-sichuan-quake-inspired?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Mar 2018 09:55:31 +0000 After a magnitude 6.1 earthquake reduced a small village in southwest China to rubble in 2014, its residents no longer thought clay houses were strong enough to withstand natural disasters. That is until a team of architects from a Hong Kong university built a clay house with a modern construction technique that can withstand magnitude 9 earthquakes. Yunnan earthquake death toll tops 400 as barrier lakes pose new threat to survivors In earthquake-prone Yunnan province, the team from Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2106629/hong-kong-researchers-mix-tradition-and-modernity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2106629/hong-kong-researchers-mix-tradition-and-modernity?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Aug 2017 02:04:34 +0000 The domestic tourism boom has been a godsend for the remote villages of Jiuzhaigou county, but now many local businesses are facing a heartbreaking decision – stay or go. Tuesday’s earthquake claimed at least 24 lives, injured 493 people and caused widespread damage at Jiuzhaigou ­National Park, one of the country’s most popular tourist attractions, and its surrounds. It should be the start of peak season at the park – in the week before the quake, it had some 40,000 visitors per day – but... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2106540/jiuzhaigous-tourism-industry-ponders-its-future-after-quake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2106540/jiuzhaigous-tourism-industry-ponders-its-future-after-quake?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Aug 2017 07:10:43 +0000 Flood and tsunami, storm and tempest take a terrible toll of humanity, despite the fact that these days they can usually be forecast with some precision. Without warnings, of course, the loss of life would have been much higher. What has set earthquakes apart among forces of nature that remain bigger than mankind’s capacity to shape them has been the lack of warning. That in itself has been a killer, because a minute or two or even seconds could be enough time to flee a dangerous structure, or... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2106507/enforcing-building-rules-will-save-lives?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2106507/enforcing-building-rules-will-save-lives?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Aug 2017 16:54:41 +0000 Hotel worker Yong Dayu was reading a book in his dormitory when the quake hit on Tuesday night. He immediately got under the bed and when the tremors stopped he did his best to keep his roommates calm. And then he ran – straight over to the hotel where he works in the tourist town of Zhangzha, to check on his colleagues. Tourist town eerily quiet as locals assess quake damage The town is near the epicentre of the magnitude 7 quake that struck mountainous Jiuzhaigou county, killing at least 23... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2106456/struggling-cope-quake-hit-tourist-town?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2106456/struggling-cope-quake-hit-tourist-town?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Aug 2017 11:12:12 +0000 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent his condolences via Chinese social media over the deadly magnitude 7 earthquake that struck a mountainous part of Sichuan province on Tuesday. In a post on the popular Weibo platform, Modi said he was saddened by the devastation from the earthquake that hit Jiuzhaigou county in Sichuan province, killing at least 20 and injuring 431 people. Luck, determination and the kindness of strangers: a reporter’s journey through the quake zone Over 60,000 people... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2106373/indian-pm-puts-border-dispute-one-side-send-his?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2106373/indian-pm-puts-border-dispute-one-side-send-his?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Aug 2017 03:31:54 +0000 Trying to get to the centre of the destruction after an earthquake takes both luck and determination. As my photographer and I begin making our way to the town of Zhangzha – near the epicentre of the magnitude 7 quake that struck on Tuesday night, killing 20 people – boulders that had blocked the road have been cleared. Tourist town eerily quiet as locals assess quake damage But as we draw closer to the epicentre in this remote, mountainous part of Sichuan on Thursday, the bulldozers are still... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2106324/luck-determination-and-kindness-strangers-reporters-journey?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2106324/luck-determination-and-kindness-strangers-reporters-journey?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Aug 2017 23:01:51 +0000 People across Sichuan were given vital seconds to prepare for Tuesday’s deadly earthquake thanks to China’s early earthquake warning system. Developed by the China Earthquake Administration in the wake of the 2008 magnitude 7.9 quake in Wenchuan, which left more than 80,000 people dead, the system alerted some people in the region more than a minute before the initial tremor struck in Jiuzhaigou county. In the provincial capital Chengdu, about 300km from the epicentre, people were notified of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2106309/chinas-early-earthquake-warning-system-gives-people-life-saving?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2106309/chinas-early-earthquake-warning-system-gives-people-life-saving?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Aug 2017 12:15:45 +0000 The town of Zhangzha, close to the epicentre of Tuesday night’s earthquake, is usually bustling with tourists, but now the streets are empty. Most of the tens of thousands of tourists staying in the town when the magnitude 7 quake hit had been evacuated by Thursday, and an eerie quiet had descended. Security staff restricted entry to the town, while hotels and homes damaged in the quake were deserted, and fish floated belly-up in tanks outside restaurants. The earthquake struck close to the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2106284/tourist-town-eerily-quiet-locals-assess-quake-damage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2106284/tourist-town-eerily-quiet-locals-assess-quake-damage?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Aug 2017 10:00:35 +0000 A Chinese woman has vowed to marry the boyfriend who shielded her when their coach was battered by falling rocks in the aftermath of Tuesday’s deadly earthquake in Sichuan, mainland media reported. Zeng Yajing said that she and her boyfriend, who was not named, had been holidaying in Sichuan and were returning from a day trip to a national park in Jiuzhaigou, site of the magnitude 7 quake, when the area was hit by a series of aftershocks, Sichuan Daily reported on Wednesday. “There were... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2106265/chinese-woman-vows-marry-earthquake-hero-boyfriend-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2106265/chinese-woman-vows-marry-earthquake-hero-boyfriend-after?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Aug 2017 08:57:59 +0000 The magnitude 7 earthquake that hit one of China’s most popular tourist destinations on Tuesday night has proven less deadly than initially feared, with 19 people killed but tens of thousands of people evacuated to safety. While the death toll was far lower than the devastating Sichuan earthquake in 2008 that killed more than 69,000 people, it has brought back painful memories for survivors. Tour guide He Min – who watched the magnitude 7.9 quake swallow up a parking lot in Yingxiu nine years... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2106145/sichuan-earthquake-stirs-painful-memories-2008-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2106145/sichuan-earthquake-stirs-painful-memories-2008-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Aug 2017 15:15:15 +0000 A team of Hong Kong counselling professionals and mainland volunteers they trained will head to the Sichuan earthquake zone to offer help after they saw messages from survivors of the deadly 2008 quake saying the latest disaster had reopened their psychological wounds. The latest magnitude 7 earthquake, which shook the popular Jiuzhaigou National Park on Tuesday night, has claimed at least 19 lives and injured 247 others. All Hongkongers who went missing have been found, according to the city’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/2106142/hong-kong-volunteers-head-sichuan-quake-zone-provide-counselling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/2106142/hong-kong-volunteers-head-sichuan-quake-zone-provide-counselling?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Aug 2017 13:15:15 +0000 Tourists in the southwestern Sichuan province on Wednesday recounted how they were watching a re-enactment of a catastrophic quake that hit the region in 2008 when the latest disaster struck. The audience at a theatre in the scenic Jiuzhaigou area – near the epicentre of Tuesday night’s magnitude 7 earthquake – initially thought the jolts were part of the performance, Anhui resident Yuan Hejie told Xinan News. The gala show was telling the story of the magnitude 7.9 earthquake that devastated... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2106139/tourists-watching-re-enactment-2008-sichuan-quake-when-latest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2106139/tourists-watching-re-enactment-2008-sichuan-quake-when-latest?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Aug 2017 13:00:30 +0000 Four foreigners are known to have been injured in the magnitude 7 earthquake that hit southwestern China on Tuesday night, including a Frenchman who will require surgery to treat wounds to his legs. At least 19 people were killed and 247 were hurt in the tremor that struck near the mountainous Jiuzhaigou county in Sichuan province – a popular tourist destination – about 9.19pm on Tuesday. All of the people killed are believed to be Chinese. Of the foreigners hurt, just one has been identified,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2106133/four-foreigners-among-247-people-hurt-sichuan-quake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2106133/four-foreigners-among-247-people-hurt-sichuan-quake?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Aug 2017 11:45:00 +0000 The two earthquakes that struck China’s Sichuan province and Xinjiang region within a 10-hour span were probably unrelated, with experts warning of aftershocks, landslides and the possibility of stronger tremors to follow. The epicentre of the first earthquake in southwestern Sichuan province on Tuesday was in the mountainous Jiuzhaigou county and reached a magnitude of 7.0, the state-run news agency Xinhua reported. The United States Geological Survey recorded a magnitude-6.5 quake west of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2106090/science-behind-sichuan-and-xinjiang-earthquakes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2106090/science-behind-sichuan-and-xinjiang-earthquakes?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Aug 2017 10:00:45 +0000 A Chinese tour guide who also survived the Sichuan earthquake nine years ago and injured foreign tourists were among those who had a narrow escape when the magnitude 7 earthquake struck Jiuzhaigou on Tuesday night. He Min, a guide working for Tonghua Travel Agency,was travelling with 19 visitors to the area and was staying in the Tianyuan Haosheng Hotel when the quake struck, according to Shanghai news portal Thepaper.cn. She was alone in the hotel lift when the power was suddenly cut off and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2106055/chinese-tour-guide-who-was-also-caught-2008-sichuan-earthquake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2106055/chinese-tour-guide-who-was-also-caught-2008-sichuan-earthquake?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Aug 2017 06:30:30 +0000 Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan was shaken by another earthquake of magnitude 4.8 on Wednesday morning while rescue efforts were under way after a fatal shock the day before. The county, a popular tourist location, was hit by a magnitude 7 earthquake late on Tuesday, leaving at least 19 people dead and 247 injured. China Earthquake Network Centre said a quake of magnitude 4.8 had been recorded in Jiuzhaigou at 10.17am. Jiang Haikun, a researcher with the centre, told the Beijing News that there was a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2106040/sichuan-hit-second-shock-rescue-works-continue-after-quake-left?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2106040/sichuan-hit-second-shock-rescue-works-continue-after-quake-left?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Aug 2017 04:29:06 +0000