The temperature this December morning in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous Region, China, hangs around zero degrees Celsius (32°F). The land is covered by thick fog and frost, and leafless trees and yellowish farmland are smeared in white.

In contrast to the whiteness that extends to the horizon, colorful flags wave in the wind in Timu and Jiangbazi Villages. Villagers glow with enthusiasm; loud gongs and drums bring a tinge of joyfulness to the freezing winter.

Dressed in colorful traditional clothing, people smile and dance a traditional Uigur dance with gentle yet agile movements. The rhythms change, and children with red cheeks start to dance. Joy and happiness overflow at two new schools.

Over a year ago, this place was badly damaged by an earthquake. Fortunately, love from Taiwan made people stand up again.

The freezing white snow intertwines with the colorful clothes, and rubble left by the earthquake is interlaced with strong new buildings. Time quickly hurtles back to February 24, 2003...



The winter sun rose late in the Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous Region. The sky started to brighten up at 9 a.m. Beijing time, February 24, 2003. Ten-year-old Anijiang from Timu Village was already awake at six because he still had a lot of work to do before going to school.

Pulling up his collar and rubbing his frozen hands, he nimbly climbed up to the top of a wall and grabbed some corn stalks, which he then fed to the hungry sheep.

After that, he ran home and did his homework by the still warm heater. When he got home yesterday, he had to help his mother with many chores and he was unable to finish his homework before dark. Therefore, he had to rise up very early this morning to finish it by daylight.

After completing his homework, he ate his breakfast and ran to school with his school bag over his shoulder.

Two minutes

At 10 o'lock, 12-year-old Peilidanhasimu was playing outdoors with her classmates in Jiangbazi Village, not far from Timu Village. Suddenly, a muffled sound came from the earth and a violent tremor flattened the classrooms to the ground.

Some children cried out of fear, and some simply stood there expressionlessly. Peilidanhasimu recalled that during a previous earthquake, students in the front rows could get out of the classrooms immediately, but those in the back rows were not so lucky. This time, fortunately, the earthquake occurred during recess, and none of the students was in the classrooms.

The earthquake, which lasted for two minutes, measured 6.8 on the Richter scale. The epicenter was in Jiashi County, Xinjiang Province. It killed 268 people, seriously injured over 2,000 people, and destroyed over 20,000 homes. Over 150,000 people were seriously affected by the earthquake.

Major earthquakes have been occurring in that area since 1996, and 11 have measured over 6 on the Richter scale.

Open-air classes

The earthquake damaged 75 schools in Kashgar. These schools were either completely flattened or were too dangerous to be used.

Kaibinuer, an instructor at Keqike Jiangbazi Elementary School, said that previous earthquakes had damaged many parts of the school; this earthquake brought down the remaining part of the school.

It would take time to rebuild the schools, but education couldn't halt for a minute. Teachers and villagers scavenged tables, chairs and blackboards that were still usable from the rubble and classes resumed outdoors.

The frigid wind blew directly at the students. How could they stand it? Peilidanhasimu remarked, "Some younger children cried because of the freezing weather, but there was nothing we could do." The classes were suspended only when the weather was very bad.

Not many supplies were available after the earthquake. Children learned to write on the ground. The yellow soil was their paper, and rocks or twigs were their pens. The students pronounced the words very loudly and their voices echoed through the air. When there wasn't any more place to write, they wiped the earth clean before them and it was a new piece of "paper" again. Some children would gaze in all directions at the scenery, but when the teacher called out, they focused again on their lessons.

When the earthquake occurred in February, Wang Tuan-cheng, vice president of the Tzu Chi Foundation, and other volunteers were in Beijing. As soon as they heard about the incident, they arranged for air travel. With stopovers and plane changes, they arrived in Kashgar three days later. From there they rode a bus for five hours to investigate the situation in Bachu and Jiashi counties.

Houses in the disaster areas were either completely leveled or severely damaged. Fearing aftershocks, some people slept in their comforters in open fields, and some built simple shelters with tree branches and whole families lived inside.

Gao Zhengrong, deputy magistrate of Jiashi County, pointed out that after experiencing so many earthquakes, people generally were able to rebuild their homes quickly. However, the earthquake in February 2004 caused such widespread damage that homes, schools, hospitals, and even basic infrastructure were all damaged. Governmental relief supplies couldn't arrive in time.

Watching the children studying in the open air or in tents, Gao said sadly, "We don't know where reconstruction funds will come from. The children can't withstand such freezing weather!"

After inspecting Timu Elementary School and Keqike Jiangbazi Elementary School and seeing the plight of the students studying outdoors, Tzu Chi decided to rebuild these two schools. Volunteers in Beijing started raising funds for construction.

Building stronger schools

Xinjiang is situated in an active seismic zone, so Tzu Chi wanted to make sure that these two schools would be earthquake-proof. Volunteer Kung Hsiang-mo pointed out that Tzu Chi insists that its schools must stand for hundreds of years, so after discussions with local professionals, the schools were built according to local earthquake standards. In fact, the amount and quality of the construction materials used for the job surpassed local construction standards.

Anijiang, a Uigur construction supervisor, could speak some Mandarin. He helped Tzu Chi communicate with local construction workers from the design of the schools to quality control. He was also supervising the construction of other new schools, but he especially devoted a lot of time and energy on these two Tzu Chi schools.

Anijiang said that these two schools had to be built with the highest quality because they were getting the best support. Other schools in the city would not be as good as the Tzu Chi schools. "From now on, students won't be afraid of any more earthquakes," he remarked.

One major challenge in building the schools was the salinization of surface soil. Underground mineral water often rises up to the surface. When the water vaporizes, the minerals left behind on the surface soil cause salinization. The whole land becomes white and hard, not suitable for farming. In addition, building homes with bricks made from the saline-alkaline soil is risky because the density and the structure of the soil have been destroyed.

Tzu Chi volunteer Kao Ming-shan pointed out that the land for rebuilding Jiangbazi Elementary School had to be changed because of the problem with salinization. "Saline-alkaline minerals have a very strong penetrative power and continue rising up to the surface, so we were forced to give up the original site."

Even the construction of the toilet had to be discussed. Tzu Chi originally planned to build modern flush toilets to avoid bad smells. However, the average annual rainfall in this area is only 25 to 100 millimeters (1-4 inches), so local residents cherish every drop of water. Besides, they are accustomed to the traditional way--digging a hole in the ground and burying the feces with soil.

Kao said that since the region was so arid, their way was entirely appropriate. Tzu Chi respected their tradition and in the end built dry toilets.

While the schools were being built, Tzu Chi volunteers in Beijing tried their best to raise funds using such methods as selling traditional Taiwanese food. Even though the SARS epidemic occurred during this same period, they still tried to raise money carefully by selling noodles and dumplings. Money for the project was gradually accumulated and the two schools were finished.

The main structures, outer walls, fences, and main gates of the two schools were completed in October 2004. The landscaping work would start in the spring of 2005. Anijiang said there will be green grass everywhere, with pine trees near the main gates and poplar trees on other parts of the campus.

New hopes

On December 9, 2004, Keqike Jiangbazi Elementary School was opened, and Peilidanhasimu, a fourth grader, gave a speech on behalf of the school to thank Tzu Chi. In a colorful hat and a red scarf, she talked calmly, without any nervousness. The red scarf meant that she had three good points: good grades, good behavior and correct political thoughts.

In the Uigur language, Keqike means "small" and Jiangbazi means "martial arts." The new campus has six classrooms, an office, a tea room, and a washroom. The school has close to 200 students and eight teachers. Most students live within three kilometers (almost two miles) from the school.

Timu Elementary School is bigger, with close to 300 students and 13 staff members. The center court with its curved roof is typical of the Tzu Chi building style.

Zhu Cuiyu, deputy superintendent of the Jiashi County Education Bureau, remarked that when local teachers saw Tzu Chi people coming from faraway Taiwan and caring so much about the local children, they felt they should also do their best to teach the children. She hoped that the new schools would become models for all the schools in Jiashi County.

Kaibinuer, an instructor at Keqike Jiangbazi Elementary School, hoped all the students would study well and become good citizens in the future. That will make her feel good as a teacher.

Another instructor, Maimaitiaili, felt that all the students were good students. He added that after the new schools were completed, the administrators demanded that the teachers teach their students how to get along well with other people, and not just fill their heads with knowledge. He agreed with this idea completely, and he said he would promote it in his class.

The villagers all felt that the new schools were very solid and beautiful. Eleven-year-old Kuerban said that he liked his school because it was very clean and bright. His grades were the highest in his class, and he hoped to become a teacher in the future and teach at his alma mater. He said, "That's because the new campus has a better environment, which everyone likes, and the classmates are very serious about their studies."

Like Kuerban, Peilisihasimu also wanted to become a teacher in her hometown. She said, "I'll never disappoint the uncles and aunties from Taiwan."

Deputy Superintendent Zhu remarked that Jiashi County is a poor place. Students from grade one to grade nine do not have to pay any tuition or fees, so all the school-age children in the county attend school. Textbooks are paid for by the central government and the local government pays all other fees.

Generally speaking, local children don't go to senior high school after completing junior high school; instead, most choose vocational schools to learn a skill. The county has 140 elementary schools and over 70,000 students. There are only three high schools, and Kashgar only has one university.

During the farming season, many children only take three classes in the morning and then leave to help out at home. Like Anijiang, the boy mentioned earlier, many have to get up early in the morning to help out on their farms.

Anijiang's family is solely supported by his mother. She farms four acres of land, two for cotton and two for wheat. The harvest brings in over 1,000 yuan (US$120) a month; additional income comes from the sale of sheep that Anijiang looks after.

Anijiang's parents are illiterate. His father is blind and his grandmother is ill. Anijiang said he wants to be a doctor when he grows up. When his parents heard his plan, smiles appeared on their faces.

The cotton lying in a corner in the living room was harvested by Anijiang. The Tzu Chi volunteers hoped this family's harvest would be as abundant as that described in a folk song:

The golden sun shines on Xinjiang,
The wind blows like waves rolling over the abundant cotton fields,
The harvest machines roar,
The harvested cotton stands like a mountain.