| Travel in Sichuan | |
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| May 18, 2008 07:31 | #11   |
 | Sunday May 18th Monday's quake has upgraded to 8.0 Followed early this morning (approx 1.08am) by another strong tremor that woke me in Chongqing. Only lasted a few seconds but it shook the building which rattled my wardrobe again. A bad night for Mianyang, Jiangyou and surrounding areas near the epicentre Most major roads from north south east and west of Wenchuan have been reopened to essential traffic only. Some roads have up to 40 detours around initial land slides and new slides are immanent in most areas. Reports of whole villages in Beichuan that have been swallowed up by landslides. |
| May 19, 2008 11:04 | #12 |
| Hi! Thanks for the on-site updates. We're already booked on AIRCHINA to chengdu from June 9-19. What's CNTA's travel advisory? Cos...the airline wouldn't refund, re-route or re-assign dates for our scheduled flight? Any idea what we should do?? |
| May 20, 2008 04:49 | #13 |
| Thanks for the update. I am still trying to digest the staggering number of deaths. Looking forward to more new... |
| May 21, 2008 08:49 | #14 |
| More new coming through. Some incredible miracles of two survivors pulled from the rubble yesterday in two different locations. Tuesday 20th, CCTV aired interviews with two of the foreign tourists who were on the ground in Wolong when the quake hit and how they lived with locals, construction workers and a small military contingent who just happened to be in the area. Other news today briefly coved tourist areas around Songpan which relies heavily on tourism. The Airport has been used to ferry in aid and supplies to the northern quake affected areas. However little information is coming in about the more remote villages, some 400 + that can only be reached by walking in. Early reports and videos show relieved villagers thanking soldiers for coming with food and water and then helping them to walk out of the mountains to safer locations. The past 24hours has been a lot quieter with fewer and smaller aftershocks but heavy rain for the past two days has hampered efforts and increased the risk of mudslides. Some roads, only just cleared have been buried once again. I think it is pretty clear that travelling throughout much of central and northern Sichuan in the next few months will be impossible. However there are areas in the south of the province and to the far south west that are unaffected and accessible but please get advice from CITS (China International Travel Service) before attempting individual travel, especially if unfamiliar with Sichuan. We have yet to get clear information about popular destinations like Kanding, Danba, and Maerkang further west although roads to these cities are now deemed to be open. There have been several warnings of expected major aftershocks which on Monday night sent large numbers of people in Chongqing, Chengdu, Xi'an cities as well as in the quake centre back into the streets and parks to spend another rough night. It's very likely that the worst is over for those of us this distance away so I packed a bag and slept well and didn't feel the very mild shock. We had a student free day on Tuesday and most schools were closed as a safety precaution. There's still along way to go. Many children in the quake area have been able to resume classes in temporary facilities and former Olympic athletes have been visiting to help inspire children to hang onto their dreams. Very moving moments.......... |
| May 22, 2008 09:41 | #15 |
| Thursday 22nd May CCTV 9 reported tonight that ALL TOURIST ATTRACTIONS in Sichuan are closed. Since there are areas of the Province that were not directly affected I am surprised at this statement that ALL attractions will be closed until further notice. But if you have plans to travel to anywhere in Sichuan in the next few months, it may pay to get more advice before proceeding. The Olympic Torch Relay which was scheduled to run through Chengdu and some southern cities in mid to late June has be postponed for 7 weeks to late July, which I feel is a wise and sensitive decision. There is just too much more practical stuff to do for these millions of people who are now homeless not to mention the grieving and injured or both. Will post more travel advice if and when it become available |
| May 22, 2008 11:10 | #16 |
| Thanks, for the info... |
| May 27, 2008 05:25 | #17 |
| When do you think it will be OK to travel in those areas? I was planning to be there in October. Do you think it will be open for tourism back again? And even if it is maybe it will be still too painfull for people there to accept tourists? Or maybe tourists should go back asap just to put some money in it, so it would be easier for people to start over? I completely don't know what to do. |
| May 27, 2008 08:46 | #18 |
| Some places may be OK to visit again soon. It would be wonderful to help give the economy of the area a boost However, the rainy season is just about to begin, adding to the pressure that already exists on dams in the region making it unsafe to be anywhere downstream. Hundreds of small aftershocks and one or two larger ones are rocking the area everyday. Millions of people in the area have been affected in so many ways and just being able to house and feed and administer medical needs for these people is still difficult. Lastly, until the Government gives permission to travel in the quake area, we need to rule it out of bounds. All you can do is wait and see how things are in October. Have a contingency plan. You may be able to travel to some places in Sichuan that have not been directly affected............. |
| May 27, 2008 09:57 | #19 |
| I'm hearing some very sad tales from my friends here in CQ. Very few people have not been affected in some way or another. Nearly everyone knows someone who perished, was injured or lost property. We have not heard stories of any casualties amongst visitors at Wolong Panda Reserve at the time of the quake. However, I have heard than one of the foreign groups, scheduled for a morning visit were rescheduled to the afternoon to allow for some Chinese officials making a formal visit with photo opportunities. This Official group was on the road at the time of the quake and did not survive the rock slides that closed the roads in so many places. The foreign tourist where in the reserve and outside at the time of the quake so that none of them were injured, just shocked and cut off from the outside. Many other visitors from places like Chongqing on self-driving holidays in the area , which included visiting Wolong have also lost their lives as rock slides smothered the roads. With more than 200 minor tremors in the area each day and at least one around magnitude 5.5-6.0 everyday it is still a very volatile place. Last Sunday afternoon we felt another major tremor here, more than 300kms away. With dams and barrier lakes giving some concerns of flooding and the raining season about to begin, this is just the beginning. There is an urgent need for hundreds of thousands of tents as temporary homes for those who have lost theirs completely or just unsafe to return to. The County seat of Beichuan will be completely rebuilt in another, safer location. I hate to sound so negative but .....................these are the awful facts |
| May 27, 2008 10:34 | #20 |
| These aftershocks seem to be so frequent! It really is terrible what is still happening down there. I hope all of you living in that area stay safe. |
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