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Today marks the one-year anniversary of the massive 7.1-magnitude earthquake that struck Yushu county in Northwest China's Qinghai province and killed 2,698 people. With this special coverage, let us take a moment to remember the people who lost their lives in the quake, and to pay tribute to those who contributed to the reconstruction, and also take a few minutes to reflect on life -- the strength of life in the face of disaster and a positive outlook for the future. |
Three minutes' silence for quake victims People in Yushu, Qinghai province have a moment of silence for victims of last year's earthquake at 7:49 am April 14, 2011 ,the exact moment one year on from when the tragedy struck. | ||
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One year on, love for Yushu quake survivors continues | ||
Orphaned last year when a 7.1-magnitude quake struck her home on April 14, Dekyi Chutso, 10, has battled loneliness ever since. Having joined an online donation program that seeks celebrities to fulfill wishes of 60 quake orphans, Dekyi's wish went public on April 11, 2011, on weibo.com, a popular Twitter-like Chinese microblog run by Sina, a major Chinese news portal. Since then, her wish had attracted nearly 300 replies pledging donations, while the program, jointly held by Weibo and Qinghai TV, had attracted over 9,000 posts as of?April 13?afternoon. |
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Children play on sand with a ball in Yushu, in March, 2011. [Photo/CFP] |
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Children joke as they eat apples in a primary school in Nangqian town of Yushu in March, 2011. [Photo/CFP] | Photo taken in March, 2011 shows an exterior view of Changu village built after the 7.1-magnitude quake. [Photo/CFP] | |
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A family prepares food in Changu village, Jiegu town of Yushu in March, 2011.[Photo/CFP] | Pupils have a class in a mobile primary school in Yushu, in March, 2011.[Photo/CFP] | |
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Locals have overcome many difficulties imposed by the severe disaster, and gotten on with their lives. The following are some examples: | |||
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Yang Juntian came to Yushu to plant vegetables with his son and daughter-in-law. The provincial science and technology department provided them with six greenhouses and long-term technical support. [Photo/Xinhua] | Metok Lhaze, a fifth-grader loves to dance and wants to become an architect and designer, so she can build fine houses in her hometown. [Photo/Xinhua] | For Nyima Gyatso, 37, rebuilding his quake-ravaged hostel Samadhi is about more than putting up 12 Tibetan-style tents on an open meadow. It is also a process of rebuilding local culture. [Full story] | Nyima Gyatsoi, a primary school principal in Yushu,? is looking after 2,000 students, among whom more than 100 were orphaned by the massive quake one year ago. He hopes some kindhearted people can help the students. |
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Cai Songmao, a Tibetan language teacher, who was pregnant at the time of the quake last year, lost her baby as a result of frantic efforts to rescue students trapped under the debris. She returned to teaching just two weeks later. [Photo/Xinhua] | Police officer Tseten Dorje was included in the list of people to be honored for bravery during the rescue efforts in the wake of the 7.1-magnitude quake that hit Yushu of Qinghai province on April 14. [Full story] | Zhang Ruifei, a 20-year-old migrant worker from Zigong, Sichuan province came to Yushu in July last year to join the project. Overcoming high-altitude problems, Zhang is now comfortable working here. He hopes to complete the project as soon as possible and looks forward to his parents' visit this summer. [Photo/Xinhua] | Caiwa, despite losing three of his relatives in the Yushu quake one year ago, devoted himself to the rescue efforts. As the Party branch secretary of the village, Caiwa has been helping locals rebuild their lives after the quake. [Photo/Xinhua] |
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Quake reconstruction makes fast progress Qiang Wei, Party chief of Qinghai, also said the province will fulfill its plans to rebuild residences in urban places, as well as roads, power equipment and other infrastructures in Yushu by the end of 2011.The province has finished plans and preliminary designs for 466 projects this year. From June to the end of 2010, Qinghai spent 5 billion yuan and completed 298 reconstruction projects. Qiang said the province's reconstruction and economic development plan will place a great priority on protecting the environment. | |
$3.1b earmarked in 2010 China's Finance Minister Xie Xuren said in 2010 that China will commit 21 billion yuan ($3.1 billion) within three years for reconstruction work in quake-hit Yushu, Qinghai province, a northwest Chinese region with a predominantly Tibetan population.The $3.1b includes 9 billion yuan for 2010, 10 billion yuan for 2011 and 2 billion yuan for 2012, said Xie. |
$3 billion added in 2011 China's government plans to spend 20 billion yuan ($3 billion) in 2011, about four times the amount last year, said Luo Huining, governor of Qinghai province. The money would mainly go to the building of urban homes, public service facilities and infrastructure in the Tibetan autonomous county of Yushu. |
Tourism city Yushu is at the headwaters of three major Chinese rivers, and the place is also referred to as "Sanjiangyuan" in Chinese, which means "the source of three rivers." "We rename Yushu county as Sanjiangyuan city with a view to highlighting the area's strategic geological significance of being the source of three rivers...We will strive to build Gyegu town into a commerce and logistics center and a tourist city featuring ethnic traditional Tibetan culture and ecological preservation," said Wang Yuhu, head of the Yushu prefectural government. |
Monthly subsidy for orphans China Life Foundation agreed on Feb 28, 2011 to provide 600 yuan ($91.3) per month to each of the 459 children orphaned by?Yushu?earthquake and a mudslide last year, both in northwest China. |