Acknowledgements
Preface
PART 1 THE EARTH WON'T STAND STILL
Birthdays at a mass grave
New lives and a new zest for living
Healing in time
Time heals most wounds
The power of persistence
New homes and hopes amid tombstones
'Hero Pig' saves the day
The rebirth of hope
Ghostly ruins
Drying tears
Trapped in time's shadow
'Quake tourism' saves survivors
Dealing with disability
Solving survivors' intimate problems
Rehabilitation advances recovery
A fairy godmother story comes true
A monk who saved lives and gave life
Returning to Earth after 125 hours in hell
A rogue excavator's epicenter restaurant
A 'farm home happy' brings joy
'More beautiful than ever'
13 towns' lucky number comes up
A black-and-white issue of survival
Legion's squeals are hell's warning bells
Building resistance from the ground up
Sichuan stays strong
Part 2 CLOSER TO HEAVEN
The knife, the night and the light
Illuminating the future
A blurred moment of clarit
Far-flung but not far-fetched
Sharing an impossible smile
Facing the world without a mask
Camping with herders
Living like a nomad
Yak heads, mushrooms and bananas
Beyond the big melt
An oasis' lessons flow beyond the desert
The road to prosperity
Road warriors' journey to the west
Part 3 FROM POVERTY TO PROSPERITY
A legend comes true
A virtual world in a real village
Escaping 'old machete'
Solar-powered prosperity
Lessons from leprosy
Emus and nomads prowl Inner Mongolia