BEIJING: Ma Xiaohu’s hand-pulled noodle — or lamian— restaurant in Lhaze county, Shigatse, Xizang autonomous region, shook violently after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit Dingri county, the epicenter, about 88 kilometers away on Tuesday morning.
Ma packed his stoves, pots, flour, seasoning, thin noodles and bottled water and drove to the epicenter, believing that people in the earthquake-stricken area may need someone to cook for them.
Ma’s hometown, Linxia Hui autonomous prefecture in Gansu province, experienced a 6.2-magnitude earthquake on Dec 18, 2023. “We received kindness from all over the country that time, so I also want to offer help to people facing the same difficulty,” he said.
Ma and his colleagues arrived at 5 pm on Tuesday in Tsogo township, Dingri. “We wanted to cook lamian, but it’s too cold to pull the flour dough, so we boiled water and made instant noodles,” he said.
The night temperatures were about minus 18 C. Without shelter, they were very cold, but “seeing the victims enjoy hot soup, I felt happy”, he said, adding that the town government provided them a tent on Wednesday afternoon.
On Wednesday, Ma said they cooked dumplings for about 8,000 people. On the third and fourth days, they offered thin noodles. The stall was open 24 hours a day, free of charge for villagers, rescue teams and whoever was in need.
Though there were frequent aftershocks, Ma said he didn’t have time to worry about them, as a lot of hungry people waited in long lines for food. “Although we are of different ethnic groups and religions, we are all Chinese. We need to unite to get through this,” he said.
Ma also received donations such as cotton quilts from a charity organization, but he gave them to children greatly in need of them. He said they would stay there for another four to five days until the victims can cook hot meals by themselves. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
