I was on the outskirts of Beichuan, the quake-ravaged town, yesterday when I serendipitously encountered a physician with an unusual story.

He was standing outside a Red Cross tent, and I approached him because I wanted to know the fate of a person being rescued a few days ago.

As we got to talking, he noted that he was a survivor of the Great Tangshan earthquake, the devastating 1976 disaster that is believed to be the largest quake of the last century by death toll. According to official figures, 242,419 people were killed.

Tangshan is an industrial city in Hebei Province, not far from Beijing. The quake occurred at a tumultuous time, leading some to call 1976 the “year of the curse.” During that year, China was emerging from the 10-year chaos of the Cultural Revolution, and paramount leader Mao Zedong was on his deathbed, soon to pass away.

The 68-year-old retired doctor before me, Wei Baoren, said he suffered greatly in the Tangshan quake. He lost a child, his wife, his mother and his mother-in-law, and had other relatives injured. An internist, he was at work at a local hospital when the quake hit, and eventually was rescued by relief workers.

“I always had the desire to pay back the rescue,” Dr. Wei said, and now he’s got his chance.

When he heard about the quake in Sichuan Province, he paid his own way down here and headed for the Red Cross, where he joined with 22 other medical volunteers and was deployed to Beichuan.

He said the difference between the 1976 and 2008 quakes is night and day.

“Back then, the leaders didn’t have experience in how to deal with natural disasters,” he said, adding that it was “an abnormal time for China,” what with the Mao era slipping by.

Leaders covered up the magnitude of the Tangshan disaster.

This time, both government officials and common people have mobilized for quake relief, he said. “This is a magnificent development.”

“The government has really been doing a great job. It shows a lot of care for the people,” Dr. Wei said, adding that he will stay in the quake zone till the end of the month.