China Focus: Rebirth of quake-ravaged Tibetan town

Five years ago, a catastrophic earthquake hit Yushu Tibet Astomous Region, Qinghai Province, Sonam Como survived, but her twins, a boy and a girl, and her home did not.

Sonam now lives in an apartment in a new community in Yushu City, which was badly hit by the quake that left nearly 3,000 people dead or missing.

At the height of her bereavement, she attempted suicide, but her older son, a monk at a local Tibetan Buddhist monastery, saved her.

In May, 2012, she gave birth to a second pair of twins, also a boy and a girl. "The Buddha heard my prayers."

So far, 79 families who lost their children in the disaster have or are expecting children, according to Chagxi Yongye, deputy director of the city's health and family planning bureau.

While these babies have gone some way to healing shattered hearts, over 1,200 reconstruction projects, at a combined cost of 44.4 billion yuan (about 7.14 billion U.S. dollars), have transformed the remote town of Yushu, which is 4,000 meters above sea level, into a thriving city.

According to the prefecture government, more than 39,000 households in quake-hit regions have moved into apartments that feature Tibetan architectural characteristics. Many, for first time, now have access to flushing toilets.

In addition, 94 kindergartens, and primary and middle schools; and 63 medical centers, have been built.

"The old schools did not even have playgrounds and now students can enjoy athletic tracks," said Cering Bamo, a guide at a museum that commemorates the disaster.

Five years ago, may of the locals had never even visited a museum, but now there are several museums at their disposal, including one on Tibetan folk customs and art.

Under a 10 year plan, experts have been dispatched to Yushu to help with infrastructure construction and urban management, while nearly 200 Yushu officials were sent on training courses, according to Li, who heads the Beijing-Yushu 10 year plan.

Catapulted into modern living, many Tibetans who once survived by digging for caterpillar fungus, an expensive ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine, and herding now work in the fields of modern farming, automobile repair and handicrafts, according to Wen Guodong, Communist Party of China (CPC) chief of the Yushu Prefecture.

Some now run restaurants or Tibetan-style inns as tourism has boomed in Yushu, home to two state-level nature reserves, Sanjiangyuan, the cradle of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers; and Kekexili, home to several species of endangered wildlife, including the Tibetan antelope, according to Wen.

Tang Yunming, principal of a local vocational school, said the school has offered a hospitality and tourism major since 2012. In addition, it provides oral English classes, a popular subject for students interested in hospitality.

Tang said many Tibetan youth have adapted well to modern life. "Clad in Tibetan robes they perform the Tibetan-style circle dance. Without it, they switch to hip hop."

However, he was keen to note that some traditional majors in the school, including Tibetan language, thangka painting and Tibetan medicine, remain popular.

While life has moved on, the pain cannot be forgotten. Kunpo Doding, a painter, features the effects of the earthquake in his art.

In November, the teenager showed his work in a New York art show organized by the United Nations.

"When I think of the deceased, their bodies wrapped in quilts, my heart aches," he said.

Sonam will never forget her first-born twins. "We often meet in my dreams," she said. Endit