TextandphotographsbyChengXueli
Reunion
May11,2016,wasabittersweetday.EightyearsafteracatastrophicearthquakestruckWenchuan,SichuanProvince,onMay12,2008,ChinaGiantPandaCenterinWolongShenshupingBaseundertheChinaResearchandConservationCenterfortheGiantPandawelcomedhomesomedisplacedpandasthathadbeenmovedbecauseofthequake.
ItwasabigdayforWangGang,anofficerwiththearmedpoliceguardingtheforest,andpandaSuLin,whowerereunitedaftereightyearsofseparation.
WangmetSuLinthedaytheearthquakerockedWenchuan.Heandsomecolleagueswereassignedtopatroltheresearchcentertoguardtwopandas,TuanTuanandYuanYuan,whowereontheirwaytoTaiwanasgifts.
Buttheirplanschanged:At2:28p.m.,amagnitude-8earthquakestruck,shakingtheearthandrockingthemountains.Wangandhiscolleaguesranintothesurroundingmountainsandrescuedfourgiantpandasand14youngpandas.Four鈥揝uLin,YuanYuan,XiXi,andMaoMao鈥搘eremissing.YuanYuanwasfoundfourdaysafterthequake.WangGangfoundSuLininjuredinabrookblockedbyalandslide.Inafewdays,everylostpandawasfoundamidstaftershocksandrainstorms.
Theeco-environmentaroundtheresearchandconservationcenterwasseverelydamaged.Morethan60giantpandasweretransferredoutofthearea,with32senttootherdomesticpandacentersandtheresttoanemergencycenterinYa鈥檃n,Sichuan.SuLinhadn鈥檛seenherguardianineightyears.