BOONE
Inside a temple in China about 60 miles from the epicenter of the magnitude-7.9 earthquake, students from Appalachian State University felt the ground start to shake Monday.
"We all rushed outside, and for approximately two minutes, we stood in the courtyard as the temple swayed, the paving stones shook under our feet, birds flew in crazed circles, a background noise of rumbling unlike anything I have experienced in my life, roof tiles fell from the roofs of buildings around us, and we all stood in awe of an amazing moment," group leader Robert White wrote in an electronic message.
The death toll from the earthquake stood at more than 19,500 yesterday and is expected to climb as searchers dig through the rubble.
None of the 11 people from ASU was injured.
"When quiet finally arrived, we were all in awe at what just happened, and relieved to be all in one place, safe and unharmed," White wrote.
Communications with the group have been sketchy, but parents have been notified that their children are safe. White, who is the executive director of ASU's Office of International Education and Development, and Shawn Arthur, a philosophy professor, are leading the group. University officials cannot release the names of the nine students without their permission.
The students and leaders were inside a Taoist temple near Cheng Du when the earthquake hit. The group started the three-week trip on May 4, and was to study Chinese religions, history and culture, including visits to a number of temples. Groups from ASU are often in China on educational trips.
White said that their Chinese hosts have been amazing in the help they have provided even as the country deals with the massive disaster.
Chinese officials bused members of the ASU group from the temple back to their hotel to get their belongings. They immediately went from there to a safe location at a panda reserve.
The Chinese helped them find a hotel for the night well away from the city, something White said was "nothing short of a miracle."
Cheng Du is a city of about 14 million, and many people there did not want to spend the night inside, even in buildings that appeared to be safe.
"You cannot imagine the sights we saw as we left the city at twilight watching several million people try to ready themselves for a night outside, in a light rain," White wrote.
Meg Marck-Kennedy, the director of ASU's Division of Overseas Educational Programs, said that the university is working to cobble together travel for the group. Flying from the area is not possible because the available airports are choked with relief-effort flights.
Group members have traveled by train and bus so far. They hope today to catch a boat or ship on the Yangtze River, although the arrangements are in constant flux, and they are not sure if that will happen or not.
Once they get farther outside of the stricken area, they hope to catch flights that will eventually take them to the city of Nanjing, eastern China's second-largest commercial center.
They plan to continue with the trip, which is expected to conclude May 24.
Marck-Kennedy said that the university is grateful for the Chinese assistance to the students and staff so far from home.
"The population has been so helpful, we feel so blessed with the Chinese helping our group," she said. "We're very, very thankful."
A group of ASU faculty members from the University Library arrived Monday in Beijing, about 800 miles from the epicenter and was not affected by the earthquake. ASU students in a foreign-language program left North Carolina on Monday for Shanghai. Another group of students and faculty members left for China on Tuesday to visit in areas that were not affected by the earthquake.
■ Monte Mitchell can be reached at 336-667-5691 or at mmitchell@journalnow.com.
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