In the first weeks after the earthquake, food and water were scare. Aid workers were mobbed by hungry people left without sufficient food or clean water. Now these most basic necessities have mostly been addressed.

People wait in line for their daily allotment of rice.

Huge water tanks have been set up which the army (theoretically) refills every two days.

Consumer culture survives but has moved outside.

An outdoor market fills the street. People bargain, ignoring the husks of buildings which surround them.

A stall selling shoes set up in front of a collapsing building

This sign says “we are purchasing wheat, millet, and rapeseed.”

In one town, a crane blocked the road surrounded by a crowd. Delicately, it fished a piano from the third story of a heavily damaged building. This was, it seemed, the event of the day and the whole town gathered to watch. I’m unsure who determined this was the priority of the hour.

Rescuing a piano.

Just after I took this picture, the girl tentatively waved.

Farmers continue their work. The relief workers I spent the day with told me that May 13th, the day after the earthquake, farmers were back in the field doing what they always do. There were far fewer fatalities amongst farmers since the earthquake occurred at 2:28PM when most people are outside the fields. These farmers grown black fungus which is used in soups and noodle dishes all over China.

Fungus farming

A farmer takes a break in the shade to escape the heat