During my trip to the Lushan earthquake zone, I was amazed to discover that the area resembles a gigantic fruit garden at this time of year.

As I rode a bus that bumped along the mountain road, I was impressed by the seemingly endless groves of trees bearing oranges, cherries and apples on both sides of the highway in the counties of Shimian, Hanyuan and Yingjing.

The fruits have changed the lives of the local farmers, who suffered great hardship when a magnitude-7.0 earthquake hit the area on April 20, 2013.