Society
Rebuilding still on Sichuan quake anniversary
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-05-12 22:02
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Across the quake-hit areas in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi, the rebuilding of homes, schools and other public facilities has entered final stage, after the central government requested all rebuilding to be completed by September.
In Sichuan Province alone, 33 of the 38 worst-hit towns have been rebuilt. Rebuilding of the remaining five, including Wenchuan, Beichuan, Qingchuan, Yingxiu and Hanwang, will be completed by September.
Jia Dehua is anxiously waiting the rebuilding of Beichuan's new county seat to finish - "I've promised my daughter I'll run a store there to sell my own embroidery work."
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"She loved my embroidery. I want to tell her not to worry about us," she said.
As of April 30, more than 80 percent of the planned new homes had been built, according to figures provided by the provincial government.
Meanwhile, about 90 percent of the schools and 60 percent of hospitals had been rebuilt.8 The province has raised more than 400 billion yuan (US$59 billion) for reconstruction, including central government funds, aid from other Chinese localities including Hong Kong and Macao, and donations and preferential loans from abroad, a local government spokesman said at a press briefing on the quake anniversary Wednesday.
"We will scrutinize the spending and ensure appropriate use of the funds," said Yu Wei, secretary-general of the Sichuan provincial government.
Wednesday, over 1,000 km from Sichuan, rebuilding was in full swing in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu, northwest China's Qinghai Province.
More than 2,000 lives were lost in the 7.1-magnitude quake that struck April 14.
Qinghai governor Luo Huining has promised to retain Tibetan-style buildings and culture in the post-quake rebuilding which will take about five years.
Nearly a month after the quake, residents are getting used to their new life in tent communities in Gyegu Town, the heart of the quake zone in Qinghai.
"Life is still full of hope if we learn to look ahead," said Tsewang, a Tibetan businessman who runs a beef noodle restaurant in a tent.
Tsewang said he hoped to move into a prefabricated house soon. "I saw on TV most quake survivors in Sichuan have moved into new homes. That's something we all look forward to."
