"The jeep swayed wildly, careening down the narrow mountain road. On one side was a vertical wall of rock; on the other a precipice. Half of the truck was suspended in midair in front of us,” Zhang Jun anxiously recalled of his recent journey to Nepal’s earthquake epicenter.

Zhang, the manger of Tibet Book Store in Kathmandu, has been working in Nepal for five years. 

On May 6, Zhang paid a visit to his Nepalese friend Biplav, who told him he was wanted to express his sympathies to the people living in Barpak of Gorkha, the epicenter of the earthquake. Without hesitation, Zhang said that he would like to donate and help transport 100 bags of rice and 100 bags of salt to the earthquake victims.

"We departed from Kathmandu at 8 am on May 8. The whole journey was around 180 kilometers … which included 50 kilometers of dirt road,” recalled Zhang. “It took us eight hours to reach to Barpak after encountering two landslides on the asphalt road, and about 80 percent of the dirt road was damaged.”

Huge fallen boulders at the foot of the mountain prevented their jeep from going any further. Having no other choice, the rescuers carried the rice on their shoulders.

"The humid weather dampened my clothes, which my own body heat would dry out later. Thunder roared and lightning flashed at dusk,” Zhang said. 

"Equipped with no flashlights, we had to use our mobile phones and wait for lightening to see the road ahead. We nearly tumbled to the ground several times. After trudging for another five hours, we arrived at the epicenter in Barpak,” the manager said.  

With a black belt in Taekwondo, Zhang coached for many years. But despite his strong physique, he felt exhausted from traveling the bumpy and rough mountain roads to the epicenter. 

With a population of 10,000 residents, Barpak is considered a big village. It was nearly flattened by the strong earthquake: A total of 68 people and 90 percent of livestock were killed; 95 percent of all structures were destroyed.

Villager Himal Gurung was working abroad in Kuwait when the earthquake occurred. 
He told Zhang his entire family was killed in the disaster. 
        
"I received a phone call from one of my friends, telling me about the earthquake. I was anxious to know how my family was doing,” Gurung said. “My friend told me ‘Sorry, we failed to rescue them. All your family members were buried when their house toppled.’ ”

"Hearing the sad news, my eyes were bleary and I could not see anything for quite a while. I couldn’t sleep that night. I suddenly lost all my relatives in one day, including my 66-year-old mother, 25-year-old wife, and 18-month-old daughter,” said the villager. 

"Their faces kept flashing in my mind. I returned home five days after the earthquake, only finding the house was a pile of rubble,” Gurung said. 
        
Touched by the tragic stories of victims, Zhang decided to do something to inspire them as they prepared to rebuild their homes. 

"I was invited to attend a lecture. I told them I was lucky to survive the disaster after so many people were killed,” said Zhang. 

"The 8.1 earthquake destroyed our homes and took away our families. However, we are still here, showing we were stronger than the earthquake. We must cherish our lives and help those who are in need,” he added.