main tourist attraction is Panda Reserve outside of city.  Lots of chemical & industrial factories, huge population, maybe 10 million or so, streets throng with all sorts of vehicles including thousands of bicyclists. When I was there four years ago, they were building a subway.  The weather was damp, constantly overcast, sunshine is a rarity, or so I was told. The people were friendly, busy and well-dressed for the most part. I was only there briefly as we were headed on to Tibet which was our main visit.

has thus far been unable to make contact w/their counterparts in Chengdu, but we have heard from associates w/an NGO, Food for the Hungry, which indicates that most of the damage seems to be outside the City of Chengdu, tho communication is sometimes spotty.  

Here is his entire report from the ground:

,

By now many of you probably know that a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit our area today.  The epicenter of the quake was less than 60 miles away from Chengdu, so we definitely felt it here.  It hit suddenly and it hit hard.
Our whole apartment building started shaking and rattling.  I grabbed Jackie and headed downstairs as quick as I could—praying all the way—and got Collin, who was outside playing with our neighbor’s son.  On my way down the steps I heard glass shattering and things falling and breaking in other people’s apartments.  The earthquake continued after we got outside, and I could see the buildings in our apartment complex swaying.  We met up with our FH/Chengdu teammates and went to a local park to get away from the tall buildings.  We were there, of course, with everyone else in the neighborhood.  We were advised it was safe to return to our apartment several hours later.  We continue to feel the aftershocks from the quake.
They seem to come at fairly regular half-hour intervals.

Our entire team is OK, but we shaken up.  The earthquake was a frightful and traumatic experience for all of us.  What’s more, Rachel, who was to return to Chengdu this very night from the U.S. (where she was the matron of honor in her best friend’s wedding), is stuck in Beijing, as the Chengdu airport is closed and all flights were canceled.  But we are grateful that we—and, we understand, the city of Chengdu as a whole—have been spared, as the damage from the quake has been very minimal, and for that we are thankful.

The same cannot be said about other areas and people in the very near vicinity of Chengdu.  BBC’s latest estimate is that 8,500 people have died in the quake, and this number is bound to rise.  We ask that you would join us in praying for this situation and for the many people who are suffering as you read this message.

Tomorrow, we will assess the situation as a team.  We do not currently work where relief efforts will take place but we do have some local partners/friends who work in the rural areas of our province.  We are not sure of our involvement at this time.  But it is no mistake that our team is here at this time.  We know that.

I will send further updates as necessary.  Thank you for your concern and for your prayers.

Yours,

Jim Hicks
Food for the Hungry
Chengdu, Sichuan, China__

I'm afraid the death toll will exceed 10,000 in the next couple of days, much is depending on rescue efforts in collapsed buildings, there are thousands of relief workers and the PLA now working as fast as they can.

Thanks for contributing more information, you're great.

Last time I was there was to visit my son when he was still in the army and at Ft Hood...and I was one of the original Vets 4 Peace/Military Family Speak Out members who went to Crawford...back when Cindy Sheehan was "just a mom." I diaried about the event here back when it happened.