Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Zhang Zhili) news:

Photo taken on January 6, 2025 shows everyone living and working at the Yamansu Xinfu New Residential Community participates in the flag-raising ceremony at Bozi Village of Yamansu Kirgiz Ethnic Township in Ushi County, Kashi Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily/ Zhang Zhili)

"Miracles" happen

During this winter break, after returning home from her studies in northeast China, Xiren'ayi Tulahon simply wanted to spend more time at home and explore the vicinity. The home she had lived in for over two decades had become both unfamiliar and fascinating due to an earthquake.

Last winter break, a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Ushi County, and Yuletuzbulak Village in Yamansu Kirgiz Ethnic Township, where Xiren'ayi's family resides, is less than 40 kilometers away from the epicenter. After the earthquake, she and her family members were promptly evacuated to a safe zone by emergency rescue and relief personnel. They didn't spend a single day in the cold or go hungry during the evacuation.

A seven-magnitude earthquake is considered a major earthquake capable of causing significant damage, and the earthquake in Ushi County has drawn the eyes of people all over the country. Some of Xiren'ayi's classmates called to check on her safety. While assuring them that she was safe, she also informed them that local residents in the earthquake-affected area were unharmed and that life was returning to normal. "Some people find it hard to believe that such a 'miracle' could happen in the remote agricultural and pastoral areas of Xinjiang," she said.

In June 2024, during her summer break, Xiren'ayi returned home just in time for the move into their new house. As part of the post-earthquake reconstruction efforts, a new residential area named Yamansu Xingfu New Residential Community was built near the township government compound of Yamansu Kirgiz Ethnic Township, and her parents chose to relocate there.

Yamansu Xingfu New Residential Community is located close to the bazaar, and all the buildings incorporate elements of traditional Chinese culture. The 80-square-meter house is sturdy and bright, with supporting facilities in the yard such as arched sheds, flower walls, color-steel houses, and grape trellises. Most importantly, the government bore the majority of the construction costs, which exceeded 160,000 yuan (about 21,941.15 U.S. dollars), leaving her family to pay only 18,000 yuan (about 2,468.38 U.S. dollars) for their new home.

On June 30 of last year, the day they moved into their new home, Xiren'ayi and her high school-aged brother were overjoyed. They took photos with their phones all the way from the gate of the New Residential Community to their living room and bedrooms, considering this to be the most beautiful scenery, and shared it with their relatives and classmates. "Many people were amazed that such a high-end resettlement area had been built in just a few months after the earthquake," said Xiren'ayi.

"School started just a few days after we moved, so I often video-called my family to see the changes in our new home. This time when I came back, I found that a lot had changed again," said Xiren'ayi on January 21, 2025. After moving to the new community, her father, who works as a border guard, placed their cattle and sheep in a centralized breeding area within the new community, while her mother took up a job as a cleaner. Their family income increased significantly, and they had bought some new appliances and furniture for their new home.

Yan Hua, the secretary of CPC Ushi County Committee, introduced that after the earthquake, with the heartfelt care of the CPC Central Committee and the strong leadership of the CPC Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Committee, as well as full support from all sectors of society, the people of all ethnic groups in Ushi County created a miracle of earthquake prevention and disaster reduction, with no casualties among the masses in this severe earthquake disaster. The government organized the villagers to carry out production self-rescue, creating the miracle of completing the post-disaster reconstruction of resettlement houses in just three months, and restoring people's livelihoods after the earthquake, with no decline in the quality of life of the affected people.

On January 21, 2025, Liu Li, the secretary of the Party Committee of Yamansu Kirgiz Ethnic Township, visited the Yamansu Xingfu New Residential Community, and the relocated household member Nawuzat Rozahon said, "The newly built houses are warm, the good policies of the CPC are warm, and the loving support from all sectors of society warms our hearts."

Thumbs up from villagers

On January 22, Eshan Apizi and his wife Tohutgul Yakup discussed that on the weekend bazaar day, they would go buy New Year paintings, couplets, and lanterns to decorate their home nicely, as this was the first Spring Festival after moving into their new house.

In Kalasu Village, Yamansu Kirgiz Ethnic Township, Eshan's family was one of the 40 households that suffered severe damage. These houses, which had lost their living functions, had to be demolished. The affected households could choose to relocate to the New Residential Community for resettlement, rebuild their houses on the original site after demolition, or purchase apartments in the county. After discussing with his neighbor Tohutniyaz Turdi, Eshan and the villagers, who were accustomed to seeing each other every day and engaging in farming and breeding, decided that rebuilding on the original site without moving was more suitable for them.

"The Party and the government have been extremely considerate and thorough in their planning for post-disaster recovery and reconstruction. Out of the 40 households in our village that suffered severe damage, five have relocated to the Yamansu Xingfu New Residential Community, one has moved into an apartment in the county, and 34 have rebuilt on the original site. They have all chosen the most suitable resettlement option based on their own actual circumstances," said Yasen Sulaiman, the secretary of the Party Committee of Kalasu Village.

Photo taken on January 8, 2025 shows the family of Tulak Tohti, who are now resettled through purchasing an apartment in the county, discusses their new life after resettlement with an office worker of the government (first on the left) of Ushi County at the Xianghe Jiayuan residential community in Ushi County, Kashi Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily/ Zhang Zhili)

When reporters visited the relocated households in the Yamansu Xingfu New Residential Community, those who rebuilt on their original sites, and those who purchased apartments in the county, one thing was shared by all of them, that was, due to the adoption of the most suitable resettlement option for their families, their household incomes had increased, and the families couldn't stop smiling as they chatted about their new lives.

On March 10, 2024, when bulldozers, excavators, and other construction machinery worked on the wasteland at the Bozi Village in Yamansu Kirgiz Ethnic Township, Mamat Yasen, a disaster-affected household in Bozi Village, made up his mind to relocate to the new community. The reason was that the relocation area to be built was next to the bazaar, and a row of storefront shops was also planned, making this area the new commercial district of the township in the future. He and his wife could manage to feed their eight cows and ten mu of land while also running a store to do some small business, which would bring in an additional income.

Last June 30, Mamat and his family moved into the Yamansu Xingfu New Residential Community, which is about one kilometer away from their original home. By the end of August, their small store opened. "I earned 5,000 yuan in four months, and I'm very satisfied," he said.

After the winter break, Tohutniyaz didn't waste time in his new home in the village. After the earthquake, the government helped him build a new 80-square-meter house, complete with warm shed, small greenhouse, and other facilities, for which he only paid about 40,000 yuan (about 5,485.29 U.S. dollars). He said, "There are subsidies for raising cows and sheep, growing vegetables and fruits, and going out to work. Now that I have a new house that can resist earthquakes of eight-magnitude, I can focus on earning money, and my income will surely increase."

A total of 42 households affected by the earthquake were resettled at the Xianghe Jiayuan residential community in Ushi County. Two years ago, Tulak Tohti, a villager from Ying’awati Village in Ying’awati Township, Ushi County, came to Ushi County Vocational and Technical School to learn to be a chef. Due to the long distance from his home, and his son also attending school in the county, he had to rent an apartment there. Last year, his house was damaged to the point of being dangerous during the earthquake, giving him the option to purchase an apartment in the county for resettlement. After understanding the policy, he and his wife did not hesitate to choose to leave the village and move to the county.

"The post-disaster recovery and reconstruction has made our family's dream of buying an apartment in the county come true," said Tulak's wife excitedly, even though it had been almost half a year. The apartment they chose with her husband has an area of 98.96 square meters and a total price of 227,608 yuan (about 31,212.39 U.S. dollars). The government subsidized 144,400 yuan (about 19,801.89 U.S. dollars), and they only paid 83,208 yuan (about 11,410.50 U.S. dollars). "Without a mortgage or rent, and without having to commute between the county and the village, we've saved a lot of money."

In addition to the above three options for post-disaster recovery and reconstruction, there is also an option for repairing and reinforcing moderately damaged houses.

According to Ma Jianjun, deputy secretary of the CPC Ushi County Committee, after the earthquake, Ushi County invited more than ten housing appraisal agencies to conduct repeated visits and appraisals of residents' houses. A total of 10,392 houses were appraised, of which 8,189 were deemed safe, 1,432 were moderately damaged, and 771 were severely damaged.

"While reinforcing and repairing moderately damaged houses may seem like just patchwork, it is also an arduous task to achieve seismic reinforcement and satisfy the residents, given that these houses are scattered across multiple townships," said Ma Jianjun. Some construction teams did not consider their own profits and losses, and they would make several trips and work for several days on jobs worth just two or three thousand yuan, just to improve the quality of the houses.

All due to the united efforts

Yamansu Kirgiz Ethnic Township in Ushi County is a border township with six administrative villages, each of which has a group of border guards.

On January 17, 2025, at the Biedieli Pass, more than 30 kilometers away from the Yamansu Kirgiz Ethnic Township government compound, 57-year-old border guard Rozi Sadiq returned from his patrol on his motorcycle and leaned against the warm kang (a heatable brick bed) in his room while checking photos in his phone album. He returns home once a month on average, and each time he takes a few photos of the new things happening at home.

Rozi is a villager from Ayiding Village in Yamansu Kirgiz Ethnic Township. Both his grandfather and father were border guards. When he was born, his family's home on the mountain was still a dugout. In the 1990s, their home was upgraded to a stone house, and later to an earthquake-resistant house made of brick and concrete. In the concentrated residential area at the foot of the mountain, there is also a government-subsidized affordable housing unit belonging to his family. After the earthquake, except for the collapse of the sheepfold on the mountain, the houses both on and off the mountain remains intact.

Photo taken on January 5, 2025 shows a worker feeds Huyang sheep at Ushi Huijin Animal Husbandry Farmers Professional Cooperative in Bozi Village, Yamansu Kirgiz Ethnic Township, Ushi County, Kashi Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily/ Zhang Zhili)

The photos taken in 2024 document the gradual changes in the recovery and reconstruction of his village and township after the earthquake, which further strengthened his determination to stay and guard the border. "Without the strength of our motherland, the stability of the border areas, and so many good policies, we wouldn't have recovered and rebuilt so quickly," he said.

Near the Biedieli Pass lies the duty station of the women's border guard team of the border management detachment. According to the team leader Mayila Mamat, after the earthquake, the girls who had graduated from colleges and universities both within and outside Xinjiang and returned home witnessed how the Party and the government quickly organized and carried out earthquake relief efforts and fully promoted post-disaster recovery and reconstruction. They were all deeply moved and felt incredibly fortunate to live in the warm family of the motherland. As a result, they eagerly signed up to become border guards and contribute to safeguarding the border for their country.

Upon entering the gate of the Yamansu Xinfu New Residential Community, one is greeted by a cultural square and the national flag fluttering in the wind. Next to the square stands a sculpture of the Kirgiz instrument, the Kumuz. Mamat Ayup, the secretary of the Bozi Village Party Committee, told reporters that when planning the construction of the Yamansu Xinfu New Residential Community, the county fully solicited opinions from the villagers regarding architectural style, housing layout, courtyard design, as well as public facilities, commercial stores, and livestock breeding areas. The results have been highly satisfactory to the residents. "If you come here during the Spring Festival, you will see how lively it is. Performing teams from various villages will perform original shows."

During the post-disaster recovery and reconstruction process, Ushi County allocated a total of 191 million yuan (about 26.19 million U.S. dollars) and completed the rebuilding of 209 houses on their original sites, relocated 41 households to the new community, resettled 42 households in the county, repaired and reinforced 714 houses, and built 411 safe houses at grazing points. The goal of completing the recovery and reconstruction and providing warm homes for the affected people was achieved in less than three months.

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