Drip boy drops below the radar

Wenchuan

Editor's note: Many icons rose from the rubble of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. Their actions and stories moved the world then. China Daily catches up with these sources of inspiration to see what has happened to them over the past five years, as public attention has shifted elsewhere.

Both became almost instant celebrities in the aftermath of the earthquake, and the media slapped nicknames on the pair - "Drip Boy" and "Crevice Boy" - but Li Yang and Liao Bo had precious little to celebrate. They had indeed survived the 8.0 magnitude earthquake, but Li lost his cousin and Liao lost one of his legs.

Shortly after the earthquake flattened two classroom buildings of Beichuan High School, where the pair were classmates, Li, who had been in a nearby auditorium for an art performance, rushed back and helped remove rubble with his bare hands.

Rescue efforts continued the next day, and Liao was found. One of his legs was pinned under a heavy slab. Medical workers inserted an intravenous drip and asked Li, then 16, to hold the bottle aloft. Shortly after, People's Liberation Army soldiers approached, Li waved, and a photographer snapped the picture that shot the two to fame.

More than 1,000 of the school's pupils and employees died in the earthquake.

Five years later, Li, a member of the Qiang ethnic group, is studying at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The hero label that was almost inevitably stuck on him has begun to fade.

In fact, Li has done his best to try to scratch that label off. He's feeling embarrassed by the status so long after the earthquake and says he turns down many media requests. The spotlight falls on him every quake anniversary and after he gained admission to university in 2010. But, Li says, he keeps a low profile and concentrates on his studies.

"I'm now preparing to pursue a master's degree."

He and Liao have not been in contact for some time, he says.

Not long after the quake, Li told China Daily that he wanted to become an entrepreneur. He is now studying administrative management, and has added civil servant to his list of possible career choices.

Shortly after he enrolled for university he became a volunteer. With other students, he paid regular visits to "sunshine homes", government-funded mental health rehabilitation centers in Shanghai.

There he recounted to many people his experience in the 2008 quake, and, with other students, provided entertainment to those in need.

"The spirit of volunteerism is well and truly in my blood," he says.

However, now, because of the pressure of university studies, he has put his volunteer activities on hold. But, he says, he has learned a lot from helping others, and it seems that it is only a matter of time before he will be there again with an extended arm.

(China Daily 05/10/2013 page22)