Grandpa Huang, teacup in hand, says life has changed for the better for him and his wife.

Grandpa Huang has been living quite a different life than he was living before the devastating Wenchuan Earthquake shook the Sichuan province on May 12, 2008.

The 70-year-old grandpa Huang, who lives in the Bailu town of Chengdu’s Pengzhou city, can usually be found drinking milk from a red, porcelain teapot and a cell phone in the other hand. Grandpa Zhang said life has changed for the better for he and his wife and he plans to open a small teahouse at the foot of the Bailu Academy Mountain. 　

Cottage and villa

Three years after the devastating earthquake shook Sichuan province, Jinqiao village has witnessed great changes. What was once a small village is now home to Jinqiao community, a European-style villa cluster. In one of the villas lives grandpa Huang with his wife.

"We have a living room and a guest room on the first floor; main rooms on the second. There is scenery of mountains and a river outside our windows and the ongoing construction of this European style living community is right on the opposite riverbank,” grandpa Huang said while introducing his residence. "We never dreamed about living in such a pretty house.”

He and his wife moved into a two-story villa of 120 square meters after the earthquake destroyed their cottage in 2008.

The European style villa community where grandpa Huang lives.

"We had been living in that old, tile-roofed cottage for almost thirty years. It needed repairs but we never got it done because we didn’t have spare money,” he said.

The old couple earned their living planting corn and potatoes. But the old cottage – their only “valuable” property – was dilapidated in the disastrous event.

"We couldn’t see any future,” grandpa Huang told the reporter in his Sichuan dialect. But the reconstruction carried out by the central and municipal governments helped them realized their life-long dream of living in a better house.

Cell phone and milk

"I bought my cell phone after the earthquake for better connection at work. I was elected as keeper and distributor of the relief supplies. I'm the town's former CPC branch secretary and people trust me,” grandpa Huang said with a smile. “But now, I use it to call my friends.”

"What I wear, eat and use are something I have never imagined before,” grandpa Huang added; cell phone in hand.

After the earthquake, bottles of milk were distributed as a relief supply food. Grandpa Huang formed a habit of drinking a bottle of milk every morning.

"I drink milk and do some housework. Then I’ll make a pot of tea and call my old fellows to come out for fun,” he said.

Grandpa Huang is satisfied with his current leisure life.

Teahouse and a countryside inn

Since life has been changing for grandpa Huang, he is planning to do something he has never done before.

"When the construction of the European style tourism street completes and attracts tourists, I will open a teahouse along the riverside,” he said while pointing at the construction site of the tourism street as he smiled with a face full of wrinkles. “I will put bamboo tables and chairs outside my teahouse and hang a teahouse flag on the doorpost. Tourists can have a cup of tea while enjoying the beautiful sceneries.”

In addition to the teahouse, grandpa Huang also plans to open a small inn.

"My wife and I can live on the first floor and offer all three rooms on the second to visitors,” he said.

He added that two of the rooms can serve as guest rooms and the left one will be altered into a sunlight room.

"I’ll equip the room with computers and ADSL’s. Sunshine, tea, the internet and beautiful scenery; no tourist wants to miss this,” grandpa Huang said.