When the 8.0-magnitude Wenchuan earthquake struck Bailu township in 2008, Yang Qingping, a 35-year-old farmer, was sitting on a chair in the street and chatting with his neighbors. It was a common sight at lunch time in the town.

Yet a few seconds later, 90 percent of the buildings in the scenic resort township collapsed or were damaged, including Yang’s home.

"I had never witnessed and experienced such a dramatic earthquake before,” Yang recalled. “I was just chatting on the street, but seconds later, everything sank. What was left was the wail of people and a ruined town. ”

Years before the earthquake, Yang was a driver serving the town’s thriving coal mining industry. His annual income was then 20,000 yuan.

Although coal mining enhanced the local economy, it took a hard toll on the water and vegetation.

Therefore, in 2001, the local government shut down the coal mining industry and shifted its emphasis on tourism.

Yang Qingping was among the first group of villagers who took advantages of both the government’s financial incentives and the unique characteristics of Bailu to open restaurants and hotels in the town instead. He opened his own hotel in 2005 and reaped annual revenue of 30,000 yuan.

When the deadly earthquake struck on May 12, 2008, Yang’s business was forced to come to a halt. So did his dreams and faith for the future, he said.

But after the earthquake, reconstruction work commenced. The Bailu government restored the town into a tourist resort integrating Chinese and Western flavors.

Yang’s hotel was also rebuilt and re-opened to business again. He told China Daily that he felt grateful for the reconstruction efforts and, now his life and business have both been moving on towards a better future.

When asked whether he was happy or not, Yang gave an affirmative answer, saying he is quite happy and enjoying his present life in his hometown. He even recalled his past misery of being a driver delivering mineral products for the coal mining industry. “It was a nightmare, a road full of tears and blood.” he said.

"However, my life has been changed a lot.” Yang told China Daily that after the quake, some loyal customers revisited his hotel and, contributed a 200 percent increase to the revenue in 2010. Some of his guests even financed him to extend his business in the town.

Now Yang is expecting his hometown to become even more prosperous. “Our living standard has been greatly enhanced compared to situations before the earthquake. We could not have lived such a better life if the government had given up on this place,” he laughed. Nowadays, his faith and dreams have all been restored, and a bright future awaits Yang and his fellow residents of Bailu.