Acknowledgements Preface PART 1 THE EARTH WON'T STAND STILL Birthdays at a mass grave New lives and a new zest for living Healing in time Time heals most wounds The power of persistence New homes and hopes amid tombstones 'Hero Pig' saves the day The rebirth of hope Ghostly ruins Drying tears Trapped in time's shadow 'Quake tourism' saves survivors Dealing with disability Solving survivors' intimate problems Rehabilitation advances recovery A fairy godmother story comes true A monk who saved lives and gave life Returning to Earth after 125 hours in hell A rogue excavator's epicenter restaurant A 'farm home happy' brings joy 'More beautiful than ever' 13 towns' lucky number comes up A black-and-white issue of survival Legion's squeals are hell's warning bells Building resistance from the ground up Sichuan stays strong Part 2 CLOSER TO HEAVEN The knife, the night and the light Illuminating the future A blurred moment of clarit Far-flung but not far-fetched Sharing an impossible smile Facing the world without a mask Camping with herders Living like a nomad Yak heads, mushrooms and bananas Beyond the big melt An oasis' lessons flow beyond the desert The road to prosperity Road warriors' journey to the west Part 3 FROM POVERTY TO PROSPERITY A legend comes true A virtual world in a real village Escaping 'old machete' Solar-powered prosperity Lessons from leprosy Emus and nomads prowl Inner Mongolia Restoring fertility for men and deserts Serious potty talk Expect the unexpected in Tibet Part 4 THE YANGTZE DIARIES A secret pact, Fool's Seeds and a golden bull Building an engine of growth. Taihu's pearl shines anew A shopping paradise comes true Gut drones, livestreams and T-Rex Overcoming peak obstacles Kiwifruit, firewater and big data Postscript