In Chengdu, a city of more than 11 million people, residents were skittish, most businesses were closed and many people remained in tents or under umbrellas on highway medians. A passing bus shook the ground near the aging Chengdu Hotel, causing about 150 people to flee the lobby.
People could only imagine what the human toll would have been if the quake's epicenter had been in the city rather than in the relatively rural area to the northwest.
Pang Yuan, 25, a sports equipment retailer, wasn't taking any chances amid the possibility of more aftershocks. His home wasn't damaged, but he camped on the street Monday night anyway and planned to again Tuesday, choosing a patch of pavement in front of the Jinsha International Theater.
Pang said he was motivated in part by government advisories to stay away from buildings.
The region has seen severe gasoline shortages. Trucks lined up for half a mile Tuesday; many stations were closed, and taxis reported waiting for an hour or more to fill up.
"My theory is that many people are preparing to jump in their cars and flee if another big one hits," said Lei Jian, 47, a taxi driver. "It's the psychology of having just been terrorized."
Lei said at least 10 of his fares Tuesday were frightened people heading out of the city to camp with their families along the Sha River.
"They told me, 'If we have to die, we want to die together,' " Lei said. "This disaster makes you realize how precious life is."
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mark.magnier@latimes.com
Times staff writers Barbara Demick in Beijing, Ching- Ching Ni in Chengdu and Wu Yixiu of The Times' Beijing Bureau contributed to this report.
