I was half dreaming, half awake, when I heard a strange, rhythmical, clinking noise from the living room. As I thought somebody was in the apartment, I quickly got out of bed and had a look. Three lamps were swinging heavily and hit each other, which caused the sound. This was on the 15th floor, so it must have been very strong movements.

It took quite some while before I realized the extent of the quake. Actually, strangely enough, I don’t remember if there were reports about the epicenter that evening? I remember Hu Jintao went down to the quake area the day after, and that rescue work had already begun by then.