In the early spring of the second month on Chinese lunar calendar, after bidding farewell to the harsh winter, mountain villages standing by banks of the Yalv River have ushered in a little bit warmness amid the vast wildness.

Soon after the “Dragon-Head-Raising Festival” on second day of the second month under Chinese lunar calendar, a general survey of chestnut-planting was launched by municipal government. And the first place we would go to was the Banshi Village, where the Zhen’an Gold Mine Agency Office was located, in Dandong City, Heilongjiang Province.

Upon seeing us, Mr. Wang, head of the village, told us proudly about their story: “Our village is a model village famous for planting chestnut trees in Dandong City. With more than 660 hectares of the chestnut-growing area, our yield tops steadily among the whole city…”

“However,” his tone changed suddenly, and the pride and joy shown on his face minutes ago also disappeared quickly. “A grieving incident happened in our village, which, once mentioned, would depress all the villagers.”

“There lives a woman named Lv Aihua to eastern end of our village. In the beginning of 1983, she contracted 41.3 hectares of deserted mountain area, and took the lead to plant chestnut trees. Being a literate and eager to master new skills, Ms Lv quickly learned how to grow chestnut trees and shown great skill on transplanting them. So, after three years’ toil and moil, she turned the skill into a cash cow which brought her family RMB10,000 yuan annually. As the result, she was called “the master hand” of the profession and her family “Wan’yuan Hu” or the “ten-thousand-yuan earning family”. All the villagers were envious of her brand-new houses built with brick walls and tile roofs. But unfortunately, Lv started to practice Falun Gong more than ten years ago and soon became obsessed with it, and her family was eventually ruined by the cult. I’ll take you to her family. It’s really miserable now.” Mr. Wang couldn’t bear to say more.

We were still shocked at what we saw as we arrived at Ms Lv’s house.

There, a scene so desolate leaped into my eyes: a blind old woman, supported by her daughter, was caressing a tall chestnut tree in the yard where everything was in a mess. At the call of Mr. Wang’s voice, the old woman slowly turned around and fumbled about for a hand-shaking.

After knowing our intentions, she started to talk about the chestnut trees, Falun Gong, her health and eyes and life in these years. Sadness scattered about her face, tears floated around her dried eyes, and she reiterated her sentences over and over again: “I really regret that I once believed in the heresies of Falun Gong. If I had listened to my children and gone to the hospital earlier, I wouldn’t have been blinded, and my family wouldn’t have been like this.”

During the conversation with her daughter, we learned the story about Ms Lv’s practicing Falun Gong. Below was narrated by Ms Lv’s daughter.

“In 1968, after my mother graduated from high school, she came to Banshi village from Dandong City, and settled in the countryside to become a permanent member of a rural production team. In 1970, she met my father and they got married. Later she had me, my little sister and my brother. My parents were both industrious and competent. In 1983, they contracted deserted mountain field and turned it into an orchard by planting chestnut trees. The orchard brought us a small fortune and our living conditions were improved. The three of us, my little brother, little sister and I, were living happily and healthily, and by 1992 we graduated successively from college, settled in the city and got married. With the family burden being considerably lightened, mum felt much relieved and as a result, frequently went to the city to attend old classmates’ parties.

One day in March 1996, mum was invited to a marriage banquet by her classmate whose son was getting married. During the celebration, Mum met another classmate surnamed Sheng, whom I addressed as “aunt Sheng”. She told mum, many people were practicing Falun Gong and claiming that it could keep fit, cure disease without taking medicine, and teach people to be kind. Moreover, ‘the whole family will benefit if one member practices it’. Several days later, Ms Sheng brought mum some discs and books on Falun Gong.

It happened that mum suffered from periodic pains caused by strain of lumbar muscle in the back because of many years’ hard work. The rumor that practicing Falun Gong could cure disease aroused her interest, prompted her to have a try. She made acquaintances with a lot of Falun Gong followers, practiced together with them early in the morning, exchanged “experience and understanding” in the day, and late in the night, she would read books and watched videos alone at home, burying herself in cultivation and unwilling to take care of the family.

Two years had gone in a flash. The Falun Gong “frenzy” seemed to have reached its peak in 1998 at our village, and mum was becoming obsessed with it at that period. In March and August I had a daughter and my brother a son respectively which, logically, was a joyous event for mum as she had got a granddaughter from her daughter and at the same time, a grandson from her son. However, it was not the case in reality. Mum didn’t seem to care much about it and refused to come over to our houses and take care of the babies even when we asked her. At last, we had to invite dad to our houses instead.

An incident more distressful to us was that in October 1998, after reaping the last bunch of chestnuts, mum sub-leased the barren maintain area together with the chestnut orchard which our family had contracted and toiled on for 15 years. Although we were all opposed to her decision, she was too stubborn to be talked around.

At that time, mum was totally tied up with her cultivation all day long: Collective exercising, experience exchanging, Karma eliminating and above all, getting into higher levels and reaching Consummation. What she said seemed to be clear and logical, but her illness was not slightly alleviated.”

The girl’s indignation mounted as she kept on the topic; and her voice had a mixed tone of hatred and helplessness.

Then, Ms Lv waved her hands, heaving a sigh, and took the topic.

“In 1999, with Falun Gong being banned by the government, many people in our village gave up practicing, but I continued my cultivation secretly, taking the hard time as a real test for Fa practitioners. I stuck to two principles: one was to protect Fa; the other was to keep practicing to eliminate Karma, which required practitioners not to take medicine nor go to hospital. No matter how my son and daughters asked me, I never gave in.

For years, I practiced Falun Gong in a furtive manner day and night, but my health was from bad to worse. I thought it was because the Karma inside me was too strong, and I expected the Master would cleanse my body some day.

And it was the spring of 2006 that I often had frequent micturitions and always felt thirsty, panic and exhausted, and I kept losing weight. My husband and my children repeatedly asked me to see the doctor, but I still refuse to obey. Until July, when my eldest daughter who was a teacher in Shenyang went home during summer vacation and saw me wasting away, I was dragged and pushed by forced to the No.1 Dandong Municipal Hospital, where I was diagnosed to have diabetes.

As I learned that I had diabetes, I thought stupidly the Karma inside me had not been fully eliminated and that Master was testing me. So long as I kept eliminating it, my disease would get cured. I turned a deaf ear to the doctor’s advice and my daughter’s petition, and refused to take any medicine. Instead, I kept practicing and watching videos every day, imaging that a “Wheel of Law” rotating in my body.

However, the reality did not accord with my wishes. In the autumn of 2010, my leg began to swell and fester and my two eyes became obscured. I was sent to Dandong Central Hospital forcibly by my children to receive medical treatment, and was diagnosed to have syndromes in the second stage of the diabetes, which indicated the risk of heart and lung function failures that would threaten my life if not to be treated in time. After three months of dedicated rescue, I was pulled back from the hands of death. However, my eyesight was severely damaged.

While I was staying in the hospital, the doctors patiently explained to me the cause, the development and the consequences of diabetes. Knowing that I was practicing Falun Gong, they told me with regrets that the disease had been delayed for too long time. Had I started systematic treatment four years ago soon after being diagnosed, I would have been free of these complications. But now, with the worsening of condition, the disease might inflict further damages.

In the hospital, I came across the daughter of my classmate who had persuaded me to practice Falun Gong years ago. She told me that her mother, also a Falun Gong follower, died of heart attack two years ago for refusing medical treatment. I dared not to ask more, but I knew exactly what had happened to her in my mind.

I regretted having been infatuated with Falun Gong, having given up my family business and my chestnut trees. What an idiot I had been to refuse timely medical help and lose the best recovery period! I truly hoped that I would get better soon so that I could enjoy the accompanying of my grandson, granddaughter and the happiness of my big family.

But it was too late. In December 2011, I lost my eyesight because of the complications of diabetes, bidding farewell to the brightness forever.”

Having left Banshi Village, I wrote down the bitter memories of Ms Lv’s family caused by her stupidity.