A one-street village up a muddy trail in the misty peaks of south west Sichuan is not where one might expect to encounter Donatella Versace. The Italian fashion maven made a three-hour jeep trek from Chengdu on a personal visit to the earthquake-hit region, however, after seeing images of injured children affected by the disaster.
The mum-of-two teamed up with The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor actor Jet Li and the One Foundation to help young people, after news of the disaster six months ago left her feeling "obliged to do something".
She travelled with the film star to the village of Sanjiang to visit a children's school and counselling facility which the Versace fashion label is supporting for a year.
While there the petite blonde couturier proved a hands-on visitor, getting involved a ping pong match before putting her creative side to good use with a little origami under the corrugated roof of one of the centre's temporary huts.
Beijing-born Jet founded the One Foundation, which supports international disaster relief efforts in conjunction with the Red Cross, after being caught in the Maldives by the 2004 tsunami. Although initially reported dead, the martial arts expert - who was in the hotel lobby with his daughter when the wave struck - suffered only a minor wound to his foot.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
