One American couple were on a visit to the Wolong Giant Panda Centre when the huge earthquake hit Sichuan last month. But, with the help of the local government and police, they were safely rescued.

One American couple were on a visit to the Wolong Giant Panda Centre when the huge earthquake hit Sichuan last month. (Photo: CCTV.com)

They describe their experience as surreal, saying that surviving with the pandas around them was truly unforgettable.

The two and other ten American tourists were in the enclosure with the pandas, when the earthquake happened.

They were a mere ten kilometers from the epicenter of the earthquake. But none of them or the pandas were killed or even injured. They've been stranded for three days but all were positive during the period.

Robert Litwak said, "The local police did marvelous job."

On the fourth day, helicopters arrived to fly them out. However, the 45-minute flight to Chengdu,the capital of Sichuan, was described as bittersweet.

Elisabeth Liptak said, "It's bittersweet because we were rescued, we're still very sad."

Robert and Elisabeth said that this tour to China was an unexpected gift, which gave them a chance to really see the Chinese people and their characters. They're really impressed by Chinese people's heroism and bravery. They wrote their experiences into an article, which has been published in the Washington Post. It wrote that it was impressive for Chinese people's preparation for the Olympics. But what they witnessed during the disaster was an even more impressive face of China. Both of them showed great optimism about the upcoming Olympics.

Robert Litwak said, "I believe it will be tremendous success."

Elisabeth Liptak said, "Olympics will be an opportunity for the country to heal to come for the country to heal to come together again after this terrible tragedy."

(CCTV June 2, 2008)