Mei from WildChina is now in China, and just sent me this message from one of her guides, Philip He:

Today we went to Dujiangyan, the both sides of the streets are almost all occupied by tents of different shapes and from different material. Most people are still scared to go back to their apartment buildings. There are some better tents with big Chinese character 救灾(Disaster-Relief), mostly they are only used for injured people or people who live in a big apartment building which have collapsed fully in the strong quake.

When we came to the Dujiangyan TCM Hospital (Traditional Chinese Medicine), we were shocked by large group of people standing outside with expecting eyes. Most of them have been waiting there since the happening of Earthquake, which make a big in-patient building collapsed and buried hundreds of people and patients. Soldiers and policemen are standing in lines outside by the side of the waiting people.

Inside the gate, two heavy excavators are working. I was told they have been working here for 4 days without stop. Whenever there is a body found, a certain person will come and tell some features of the newfound body. The relatives who think it might be the person they are waiting for will be allowed to go in to indentify. Then the body will be sent to a place shrouded in yellow plastic cloth.

At the gate, we met two middle aged ladies. They were waiting for their relatives. They were from one family. About 14 of their family members were in that hospital discussing financial help to a poor injured family member from a car accident. Just at that moment, the eathquake happened. The father of the injured man reacted so fast that he got 3 family members escaped from the window bars. Later on, he rescued another two persons from the collapsed buiildings. But no more good lunck fall upon him. No more suvivors of his big family have been found. After 4 days of waiting, only 3 bodies have been found, though he still hope miracle would happen.

While they are waiting, most of people still can't understand why all the buildings around them collapsed and one still stands steady after the strong earthquake and so many aftershocks.

When we left they were still waiting with hope and pain, the pain is not just from the loss of their closest family members, but also from the equally fragile buildings...... They hope one day someone will give them a good answer.....

I hope this answer will not be long.