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2008年5月12日14时28分，汶川特大地震撕裂山河，龙溪乡直台村家园尽毁。全国各族人民、海外侨胞、国际友人纷纷伸出援手，美国北卡州最大的社团CAFA 会长温大岭及夫人沈慧号召北卡全体华人华侨慷慨捐赠35万美元给汶川受害灾民。2009年5月3日，434名村民含泪告别故土，整村迁至邛崃鲁川过渡安置小区。2009年9月24日，整村入住邛崃油榨乡直台新村。如今，16年过去，直台子孙以“此心安处是吾乡”的坚韧，在异乡筑起一座“云朵上的羌寨”，书写着汶川地震2.0时代的新生篇章。
根在龙溪，恩记全国
直台村人从未忘记来路。村口“他乡·故乡”展厅里，迁徙老照片与羌族口传史诗共同诉说着跨越时空的乡愁。村民们将故乡命名为“直台村”，却将新村文化广场命名为“感恩广场”——为铭记党和全国人民的援建之恩，他们甚至将蒿坪村改名“感恩村”。每年清明，羌笛声绕梁，既祭奠地震逝者与抗震英烈，也致敬为异地安置倾注心血的建设者。一位老人动情道：“你们来，我们就像见到娘家亲人!”
从废墟到桃源：安居乐业的蜕变
如今的直台村，白墙青瓦的羌式小楼依山而建，太阳能路灯照亮油滑的村道，天然气管道通户入室。村民人均收入从搬迁初的数千元增至2022年的2.41万元，增长近10倍。这背后是“输血”到“造血”的产业升华：高山蓝莓园、茶山与冷竹笋基地通过合作社统销，羌绣工坊的绣娘足不出户月入千元;更不必说“跳沙朗、喝咂酒、住羌家”的文旅融合模式，2022年吸引游客创造160余万元旅游收入。
羌魂新传：文化生根与民族共融
尽管生活已与现代接轨——适龄儿童100%就近入学，大专以上学历者较迁前增39倍——但羌文化反而在异乡焕发新生。羌碉、沙朗广场、尔玛博物馆矗立村中，非遗工作室定期传习羌绣技艺；羌族村民与当地汉族通婚、结“干亲家”，共跳《夯出幸福来》舞蹈，成为中华民族共同体意识的生动注脚。正如村民所言：“我们搬离了故土，却让羌族文化在更广阔的土地上扎了根。”
直台村的故事，是一部用感恩与奋斗写就的史诗。它告慰逝者：生命会在希望中延续；它致敬英烈：奉献终将结出硕果;它更向世界证明：只要人心向暖，何处不能成为吾乡?
美国北卡侨领美中经济文化协会（CAECA）创会主席卫高荣先生（穿绿色夹克者）受国务院邀请，十年内第三度参加天安门大阅兵作为贵宾后，于2025年10月3日和好友们访问汶川新生地（汶川2.0）。
此文由南宝山镇高旭东书记提供详细内容，图片由美国美中经济文化协会（CAECA）卫高荣创会主席提供
At 14:28 on May 12, 2008, the devastating Wenchuan earthquake tore mountains and rivers apart, leaving Zhita Village of Longxi Township completely destroyed. On May 3, 2009, 434 villagers bid farewell to their homeland in tears and relocated as a whole to the Luchuan Transitional Resettlement Community in Qionglai. On September 24, 2009, the entire village moved into the newly built Zhita New Village in Youzha Township, Qionglai. Now, 16 years later, the descendants of Zhita Village, guided by the resilience embodied in the saying “where the heart finds peace, there is home,” have built a “Qiang village above the clouds” in a new land, writing a renewed chapter of the Wenchuan Earthquake 2.0 era.
Roots in Longxi, Gratitude Remembered Nationwide
The people of Zhita Village have never forgotten their origins. At the village entrance, the exhibition hall titled “Hometown · Homeland” displays old migration photos alongside orally transmitted Qiang epic histories, jointly narrating a nostalgia that transcends time and space. The villagers named their original home “Zhita Village,” yet named the cultural square of the new settlement “Gratitude Square.” To honor the assistance of the Communist Party of China and the people across the nation, they even renamed Haoping Village as “Gratitude Village.” Every Qingming Festival, the sound of Qiang flutes echoes through the village—commemorating earthquake victims and heroes of disaster relief, while paying tribute to the builders who devoted themselves to the resettlement efforts. As one elderly villager said emotionally, “When you come, it feels like seeing our own family from home.”
From Ruins to a Land of Promise: Transformation Through Stability and Prosperity
Today’s Zhita Village features Qiang-style houses with white walls and gray tiles built along the mountainside. Solar-powered streetlights illuminate smooth village roads, and natural gas pipelines reach every household. The villagers’ per capita annual income rose from only a few thousand yuan at the time of relocation to 24,100 yuan in 2022—nearly a tenfold increase. Behind this growth lies the transformation from “external support” to “self-sustaining development.” Highland blueberry orchards, tea plantations, and cold bamboo shoot bases are marketed collectively through cooperatives. In Qiang embroidery workshops, artisans earn steady monthly income without leaving their homes. The integrated cultural tourism model—“dancing Shalang, drinking Zha wine, and staying in Qiang homes”—attracted visitors and generated more than 1.6 million yuan in tourism revenue in 2022.
A Renewed Qiang Spirit: Cultural Roots and Ethnic Integration
Although daily life is now fully connected with modern society—with 100% of school-age children enrolled nearby and the number of villagers holding junior college degrees or above increasing by 39 times compared with before relocation—Qiang culture has flourished anew in this new land. Qiang watchtowers, the Shalang Square, and the Erma Museum stand proudly in the village, while intangible cultural heritage workshops regularly pass down Qiang embroidery skills. Qiang villagers and local Han residents intermarry, form “sworn family ties,” and dance together to “Stamping Out Happiness,” becoming a vivid embodiment of the shared sense of the Chinese national community. As villagers often say, “Though we left our homeland, we allowed Qiang culture to take root on a broader land.”
The story of Zhita Village is an epic written with gratitude and perseverance. It consoles the departed, affirming that life continues through hope. It honors the heroes, proving that dedication ultimately bears fruit. And it shows the world that as long as hearts are warm and united, any place can become home.
Mr. John Wei, founding chairman of the China–America Economic and Cultural Association (CAECA) and a prominent Chinese community leader in North Carolina, USA (wearing a green jacket), visited the Reborn Land of Wenchuan (Wenchuan 2.0) with friends on October 3, 2025, after being invited by the State Council to attend the Tiananmen National Day military parade as an honored guest for the third time within ten years.
This article is based on detailed information provided by Secretary Xudong Gao of Nanbaoshan Town. Photographs were provided by Mr. John Wei, founder of CAECA,( Chinese American Economic and Cultural Association )
