Villager Xu Yongqiong (1st L) poses for a photo with her family in front of her new home at the relocation site in Shaba Village of Luding County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Jan. 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Xu Bingjie)
CHENGDU, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Xu Yongqiong, a villager of Luding County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, is busy decorating her new home, while electricians are installing the pendant lights in a room.
On Sept. 5, 2022, a 6.8-magnitude earthquake jolted the county, resulting in many casualties, and collapsed houses in the affected areas.
After the earthquake, the loosening of the mountains posed a serious geological hazard, forcing Xu's family to relocate.
Fortunately, through the support from government and post-quake reconstruction plans, her new home was finally built.
With the help of interest-free loans from the bank, borrowing money from relatives and government subsidies, Xu invested nearly 700,000 yuan (about 98,488 U.S. dollars) in constructing a two-story building with eight bedrooms.
"I'm preparing for the future to develop this property into a homestay for tourism," said Xu, who is now running an eatery with her family members.
"We should stay busy, as I believe that through hard work, we find hope in our days," she added.
In Shaba Village alone, where Xu lives, there is a population of 300 across 95 households. The earthquake affected 78 households and 266 people. Among them, 27 households required the reconstruction of their homes.
So far, construction of the homes have been completed, and the villagers are expected to move into the new homes by the Spring Festival, which falls on Feb. 10 this year, according to Wei Shuquan, Party chief of the village.
The disaster-affected villagers are gradually embarking on a new chapter in their lives.
With the government's support, more than 4,500 earthquake-affected households have had their new homes fully constructed, the majority of which are located in Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Garze and Ya'an City.
Li Zhiying, a villager in Shimian County, Yan'an, has already settled into her new home.
After putting her previous fruit cultivation losses from the earthquake behind her, Li has recently been busy managing her citrus orchard up in the mountains.
"After selling these fruits, I can repay some of the loans used to build the new home. I am also planning to expand the orange planting area in the next step," Li added. ■
An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 9, 2024 shows new houses at a relocation site in Beitou Village of Luding County, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Yang Jin)
