This is supposed to be a peak season for farming. But what of farmers who almost lost their lives in the May 12 earthquake?

They have been making every effort to return to their fields.

Roads leading to the remote villages near Beichuan County, the area worst hit in the May 12 earthquake, still have cracks here and there, and it's not unusual to see large rocks tumbling down hillsides.

But farmers, carrying bamboo panniers on their backs, are marching back to their home villages. The panniers hold rice, edible oil and vegetables given by the government. Tents, too, as cottages have become uninhabitable.

Since the day after the earthquake, Jiuzhou Stadium in nearby Mianyang City has been their temporary shelter.

Deng Guangbing, a 37-year-old member of the Qiang ethnic minority, told reporters he had worried about his rapeseed fields while living at the stadium.

On his shoulders is a heavy pannier filled with food -- rice, cucumbers, dried bean curd and milk. He is looking forward to going home soon.

"The rapeseed should have ripened by now. We have to harvest it right away. It was growing very well this year," said Deng.

Like Deng, every farmer affected by the earthquake is now striving to rebuild back home. Some have to walk; others return on buses where road conditions are better.

Along the road leading from Mianyang to Beichuan, huge cracks in the mountains can be seen. So can disaster relief convoys, military and civil, loaded with tents.

Tents are going to be the farmers' shelters for the near future.

Left on her own

Han Xiaodong, a middle-aged woman who lost her husband in the quake, has to manage by herself.

"I want to harvest more rapeseed today. The weather has been nice for the last two days," she said. "I'm sure the government will help us get through the difficulties, but we also need to work hard ourselves."

Wei Yongqiang, a 39-year-old villager, is also working in the rapeseed field, his wife and their younger son watching.

Wei's wife is too grief-stricken by their elder son's death to do anything. The son, Wei Changlin, a junior high student who excelled at school, died in the earthquake.

They are now taking special care of their younger son, keeping him around all the time.

Besides harvesting crops, many farmers in Beichuan County are collecting timber and bricks for reconstruction.

"They are now making preparations for the reconstruction work," said Song Ming, the county party secretary. "The farmers have cleaned up the smashed bricks and tiles but kept things that could be useful."

"Where there is life, there is hope." This ancient Chinese saying is farmers' firm belief.

Heading home

As the largest temporary shelter, Jiuzhou Stadium at one point housed more than 30,000 displaced people, mostly farmers.

"Now, there are only about 7,000 in the stadium. Most of them have gone back home to plant and rebuild," said a director from the Publicity Department of the Mianyang Municipal Party Committee.

The municipal government has helped re-settle more than 10,000 people.

"No matter what happens, we farmers still want to go back home. We have our fields here. We have confidence in the government, but we also need to save ourselves. We will get through the difficulties," said Han Xiaodong.

(Xinhua News Agency May 28, 2008)