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Earthquake Updates — Earthquake in China

Wolong Town — Tent City

Suzanne Braden, Director of Pandas International

On our first afternoon after leaving the Panda Center, we went to Wolong Town. The road between the Panda Center and Wolong Town was in very bad shape. Rock slides were everywhere. Enough of the rocks had been moved to allow one vehicle to get through. Many of the local’s homes along the road were totally destroyed.




The Wolong Town had been home to the Wolong Panda Center’s administration building, the Wolong Hotel, and all of the staff housing. None of these buildings had collapsed, but all were cracked and considered unsafe and therefore uninhabitable. The entire area in front of the administration building was now a sea of blue tents. The panda sculpture next to the pond seemed to be watching over the tents. Cars are now being used for storage of personal items. The administration building (greenish gray building in photo) had two wings off a center portion. Dr. Li said the two wings were moving up and down and to illustrate he flapped his arms up and down like a bird. Huge cracks were visible everywhere in the Wolong hotel. There was significant roof damage on all the staff apartments.

I spent a lot of time in the evening talking to staff and Dr. Li who said prior to the earthquake there had been 63 pandas at Wolong. As of this afternoon there were 47. 8 had been sent to Beijing, 6 to Bifengxia and two were still missing — Xiao Xiao and Mao Mao. I was also told they thought Mao Mao might have been trapped in her enclosure and we should know the next day. (As we now know, Mao Mao was not missing but crushed when the wall of her enclosure came down on top of her. (See report “Beginning at the End”)

In the evening, Dr. Li asked if I would like to take a walk. We walked through the staff housing area. The area had the quiet feeling of a ghost town that had been abandoned on a moment’s notice. Bowls and bottles where still on kitchen tables. Laundry was still hanging on clothes lines. Children’s toys were scattered about. All the signs of a vibrant community, but the people were gone. Boulders the size of SUVs landed in the court yard, missing buildings by a few feet.

NBC had taken MREs (meals ready to eat) and peanut butter and jelly and tents- but again the most cordial staff of Wolong absolutely insisted we share their dinner. A large tent had been set up as the “kitchen” and everything was cooked in large pots over a camp fire. They also found blue tents for us to sleep in and even had mattresses and comforters.

After dinner everyone seemed to enjoy the evening. Children played tag. Parents pushed toddlers around in strollers. Although basically living in a refuge camp, sprits were good. I think at this point they all just realized they were lucky to be alive.

Several communal recreation tents were set up and with the help of generators and lights were available. The NBC team entertained a large group of kids with DVDs played on laptop computers.

Although generators were available, the lack of gasoline posed a major problem. The one gas station between the town and the Center was destroyed by a rock slide. Now, as a result, even gas must be trucked for vehicles and the generators. Getting back and forth from the camp to the Center became more difficult and costly.

So after a long day, I made my way to our blue tent and sat in the quite overwhelmed with what I had seen in the last several hours. The Chinese people had been wonderful and though enduring great personal hardship, they were still kind and gracious to visitors. Lots of the initial devastation had been cleaned up, but destruction was still very evident. The dedication of the staff to the pandas never wavered, even when their own personal safety was uncertain. The damage was similar to that of a tornado, with one panda enclosure destroyed and the one right next completely untouched.

What would be come of this beautiful valley which was home to the pandas we all love? Where would the staff who have become friends, and in some cases like family, go now? On my first visit to Wolong in 1999, I described it as a magical experience. I wondered if that magic would ever return.

As I fell asleep, I knew there was great uncertainty ahead for the people of Wolong Town, the Center, and the pandas we all love.


Pandas International is accepting memorial donations in memory of Mao Mao for use in the rebuilding efforts. To make a tax-deductible contribution, please send checks payable to Pandas International at P.O. Box 620335 , Littleton , Colorado 80162 , or view daily updates and donate online at www.pandasinternational.org.

Next segment: Second Day at Wolong

See previous segments:

Journey to Wolong — Getting There >>

Beginning at the End >>

Visual updates:
Interactive map of the earthquake region and panda reserve >>
Newsweek Article: "China Earthquake — Animal Instinct" >>

News Cast in Chinese
This shows cubs being put in cages, drinking milk, repairs being made as well as overall view of Wolong Panda Centre. Later in the video, the 8 Olympic pandas are shown being transported to the truck to be sent to Chengdu and a temporary path to the bridge. In the second half of the video,  the female reporter, talks about the situation in Wolong as a whole, including the people having to live in the tents for at least another 6 months. She also reported about how Wolong Panda Centre has frozen all requests from its staff to go home and see their families (many of them are not local and from elsewhere in the country) as they are needed to stay and help the villagers. The staff at Wolong is extremely dedicated.
Click here to view >>

Reuters story with good scientific information about the earthquake:
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSSYD7250120080529

  You Tube put together by a Panda Friend: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsVe6LC6imo

Early photos of earthquake by Heng Yi:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bartyork/sets/72157605116803966
Recent updates:
May 12, 2008 >>
May 13, 2008 >>
May 14, 2008 >>
May 15, 2008 >>
May 16, 2008 >>
May 19, 2008 >>
May 20, 2008 >>

Press releases (PDF format):
May 13, 2008
May 14, 2008
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