How surprised I was
to see the beautiful sunflowers
growing in the green valleys
along the long & winding roads
to Red Flag Village in Zhangjiakou.

The same fascinating scenery, the same charming sunflowers,
yet how can you compare the difference
between living in San Francisco vs Red Flag Village?

No wonder all the village people
stood in the rain along the sides of the road,
with loud beating drums
to welcome their Tzu Chi friends,
to show their appreciation for
the Tzu Chi village inauguration.

We are only the representatives of Tzu Chi
who have come to receive this sincere gratitude.
With the chilly rain & wind,
the muddy & narrow roads,
Heaven wants us to experience
a bit of the hardship of the local people.

How could the late summer coldness of +15C
compare with the freezing winter of -15C?

We finally observed with our own eyes
the struggle for survival on the poor loess plateau,
the scarcity of material goods, the lack of everything,
the toil to fight with natural disasters,
year after year.
Yet we all belong to the same ancestors of a few hundred years ago!

Indeed we have been blessed with too much.
Should we not be more generous?
Specially, "To give is more blessed than to receive."
We were not sure whether we truly deserved
such an overwhelming welcome.

The happiest of all are the Tzu Chi pioneers
who vowed to help these people,
and who now see the dream of the Tzu Chi village
finally become reality.