Earthquake and Aftermath

In the early evening of 4 February, 1996, when people had come home for their evening meal, a severe earthquake struck Lijiang. Measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale, the quake toppled houses, killed over 300 and forced terrified residents into the streets and fields to put up in makeshift tents and shelters throughout the freezing night. And for several more, as aftershocks punched the surface of the earth and knocked down houses that had withstood the original quake.

The tragedy made international headlines and was a lead story on Chinese television for many days. Not only did aid of all kinds pour in at once, many Chinese citizens became aware of Dayan and Lijiang County for the first time. Fascinated by the imagery, when in due course the reconstruction was more or less complete, a greater number of Chinese opted for Lijiang as their holiday destination. The irony of the disaster was that it led to a rather sudden change in Dayan's character and way of life because the coverage of it aroused so much interest and attention.

Reconstruction was fairly rapid in the villages but in Dayan itself many buildings were so heavily damaged their owners could not afford to rebuild them, so sold them off to companies who turned them into offices. But even these were rebuilt with traditional materials, if not always in the original's style. The local government not only insisted on it, they required that those buildings within Dayan's boundaries that did not use traditional materials must be torn down and built in the Naxi style. Hence the concrete buildings that lined the middle street leading to Sifang Square, which had survived the quake, were methodically demolished. The entire street was filled with new, Naxi-style buildings, better than almost every existing building in the old town.

The transformation went further. All the old town markets except Sifang Square, which became strictly a souvenir market, and the produce market in the courtyard of the 3-story, 3-sided building by the stream, were closed. Little gardens replaced the butchers' stalls and chicken market on Shazu Lane. Meanwhile a multi-eaved viewing tower was erected on Lion Hill and at the end of 1997 Dayan was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Shortly after this about 20 square blocks below Shazu Lane were levelled. In place of the old residential neighbourhood the local government constructed a huge compound with a towering palace, claiming it to be a replica of the original Mu family palace in the Ming Dynasty. Xinghua Street and especially Xianfeng Street filled with shops catering to the tourists. The commercialisation of Dayan, with its new palace, multiple venues for orchestral music and folk dance shows, and growing number of guest houses and cafes in the old town, seemed to have reached its peak.

In fact, just two years after the earthquake more than half of the old town residents, finding ordinary life too difficult now, had moved out But the other half of Dayan, turning left at the Old Stone Bridge, was unaffected and maintained the same traditional look and lifestyle as it did before the earthquake.