First-person account: The room was shaking violently

Cheng Ning, 38, a tourist from Beijing to Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan province, which was hit by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake at 9:19 pm Tuesday, talked to Cao Yin about his experience.

I was resting with my family in a hotel in Jiuzhaigou when the room began shaking violently.

At first I did not realize what was happening. But then understood that it was an earthquake and immediately ran out of the room with my wife and son.

After escaping to an open ground in front of the hotel, I saw other tourists standing there, many of whom had apparently hurried down as they were dressed only in short pants. Some told me that they were taking shower when the hotel began shaking.

The hotel staff members quickly launched an emergency response, maintained order and provided us with bathrobes and quilts, which calmed our nerves.

Some tourists, especially children from other provinces, were anxious at first, repeatedly asking what was going on. But after the hotel's management swung into action, they calmed down.

My son was OK, as I had told him about earthquakes and had also shared stories about the quake in Wenchuan, Sichuan, in 2008.

Now tourists have left the hotel and the area by bus, and my family will arrive in Chengdu later in the evening on Wednesday.