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China just had its . I heard the news on Monday while I was on a brief trip back to London. 29 hours, 17 minutes, 1 train journey, 2 flights, and 3 car rides later I arrived in the town of Dujiangyan, near the epicentre of the quake in China's Sichuan province.

I got in well after dark. The rain was coming down heavily. Along the way I saw people camping out in plastic tents by the side of the road. Police cars in Dujiangyan drove through deserted streets. A mechanical digger hacked through some rubble. It was protected by a line of a dozen or so men in military uniforms. One of them put his hand in front of the camera when we tried to film.

Dealing with an earthquake may be the most basic test for any government - can it save its people from disaster? In the past, China has downplayed some of its bad news (a Chinese student I spoke to the other day criticised the government for failing to properly deal with the outbreak of Sars in 2003). But this time it seems that the whole country is watching what's going on.

This year we'd all seen the Beijing Olympics as the great test for China. But the way the nation handles this earthquake may end up telling us just as much about the kind of country China wants to become.

It's almost dawn now. When it gets light, my colleagues and I will get out and have a closer look at the damage.

PS If you're in Sichuan, I'd be very interested to hear how you coped since the earthquake happened.

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