Culminating reconstruction brings hope to quake-hit Yushu Young students attend the mobilization meeting of reconstruction work in quake-h...

Culminating reconstruction brings hope to quake-hit Yushu

Young students attend the mobilization meeting of reconstruction work in quake-hit Yushu， northwest China's Qinghai Province， April 14， 2012. (Xinhua/Wang Bo)

XINING, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Geleg Dargye still remembers the moment of desperation when staring at his ruined village after a devastating earthquake two years ago.

Now, the resident of Dage village, in Yushu Tibetan autonomous prefecture, is preoccupied with preparing to move into a new house. Pain caused by the earthquake is slowly fading away.

In June, all of Dage's 826-strong population will move into their new homes -- built as part of the reconstruction project launched after the 7.1-magnitude quake rocked Yushu on April 14, 2010, taking 2,698 lives and injuring over 12,000 people.

There will be showers and indoor bathrooms in the new dwellings, which will be powered by solar energy and biogas, says Geleg Dargye, who is also Party chief of the village.

"We will be able to enjoy modern conveniences and live as urbanites do," he said. Dage is the only village built with the energy-saving principles in Gyegu, the town that was worst hit in the quake.

Out of respect for Tibetans' religion, every house will have a Buddhist prayer room, according to Li Bo, a senior engineer with the China Railway Construction Corporation Ltd and head of the project.

The reconstruction of Dage started about half a year after the quake, with a total investment of 50 million yuan (about 7.95 million U.S. dollars) from the government and public donations, according to Li.

Dage's rebuilding is one of the 843 projects launched in Yushu in the wake of the deadly natural disaster.

More than 5 billion yuan has been allocated to relocate residents in Yushu, and most rural and some urban residents had moved into new homes by the end of November, claims Kuang Yong, director of the province's housing and urban-rural development department and head of the post-quake reconstruction headquarters.

"The reconstruction is an opportunity that, if seized, will help improve the villagers' living conditions," in Geleg Dargye's view.

Traditionally, Tibetans have not been comfortable having a toilet in their homes. But outside toilets are inconvenient for the large number of elderly people in the village, many of whom are in poor health.

Over 200 Dage residents, roughly a quarter of the village's population, are senior citizens, so Geleg Dargye went to great lengths to talk villagers into having toilets built inside the new houses.

In addition to providing replacement shelter, the reconstruction of Yushu also set out to give the stricken a means of earning a living. Efforts have been made over the past two years to boost eco-friendly animal husbandry, tourism and commerce in the autonomous prefecture, notes Kuang.

Over 1 billion yuan of government investment and public donations have been spent on supporting the local economy, he says.

Before the earthquake, locals made a living mainly by collecting and selling Chinese caterpillar fungus, a precious traditional medicine. Now, they grow vegetables in greenhouses, breed cows, chicken and pigs. Some operate hotels or drive taxis.

Tashi, a villager who owns five greenhouses, makes 10,000 yuan a year from just one of them.

"I am much better off than before," says the 45 year old.

Technicians from the provincial institute of agricultural sciences also sometimes come to Dage to train villagers in farming.

"I never miss the training," Tashi says, "It has been really useful."

Moreover, Dage plans to make the best of its Tibetan folk culture to attract tourists. "More and more family inns will open in the village," Geleg Dargye hopes.

Previously, the village was named "Dongfeng." Post-quake, villagers agreed to change the name to "Dage," which means "warrior" in the Tibetan language.

"People in the village are nothing short of warriors," Geleg Dargye explains of the retitling. "We were undaunted in the face of calamities. We survived and are moving toward a better life."

The per capita annual income in the village was around 2,000 yuan before the quake and is 3,500 yuan now. And Dage's Party chief expects the number will continue to rise, along with its farming and tourist credentials. "In about three years, the per capita annual income will grow to 5,000 yuan," Geleg Dargye predicts.