What foreign media saw at the disaster site

A group of foreign journalists visited the mudslide-hit Gyirong Port on the China-Nepal border over the weekend.

Since the disaster struck, some Western media have fallen back on a familiar pattern in their coverage of China, amplifying claims about limited information and a lack of transparency. But after reporters reached the site and saw the devastation for themselves, their coverage began to change.

The reports provided more details about how remote the area is, how badly the roads were damaged and how difficult and dangerous it was for rescuers to reach the worst-hit areas.

And that is one of the most revealing changes. Before reporters went there, "lack of access" was part of the story. Once they got there, the difficulty of access itself became part of what they witnessed. 

Wang Xiaoyu contributed to the story.