In October 2008, the People’s Republic of China’s Bureau of Foreign Expert Affairs asked CCE, (Cross Cultural Exchange) , an international non-profit organization based in Beijing and San Francisco, to recruit building code enforcement officials as well as design professionals to volunteer to travel to the Gansu Province and advise local and provincial government officials on their reconstruction efforts, following the Magnitude 7.9 Wenchuan Earthquake of May 12, 2008. John Mullins with three other Americans and one Canadian were chosen for the mission to China

The team flew to Beijing and then to Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu Province on October 26th. The team drove 1800 miles through southern Gansu Province and a small northern portion of Sichuan Province to reach a region in southern-most portion of Gansu called Longnan, which was heavily damaged by the May 12th earthquake. The team traversed a high mountain range and entered southern Gansu via the city and county of Wenxian where the team spent several days in the region, which was one of the area’s most heavily impacted by the earthquake.

The CCE Expert Team inspected the earthquake devastation and reviewed the reconstruction efforts by the local authorities, and provided detailed recommendations for a post-disaster reconstruction plan to the local and county governments, and other local authorities, during a series of meeting in each community.

Please click here to view the photos about the CCE Experts Team China Mission