It was my original plan to write about the reconstruction miracle on the fifth anniversary of the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan. But another devastating quake scuttled my plans and made it hard to get into the mood to write about recovery in my home province yet again.

In late March, I had done a week-long reporting trip through the most severely damaged mountainous towns in and near the epicenter of the 2008 quake. Perseverance, hard work and contributions from all walks of life had transformed the region in a very positive way.

The new towns are no different from some European tourism resorts.