Road to recovery

2:28 pm

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake strikes Sichuan province. Tremors caused by the quake jolt cities across China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, Zhengzhou, Lanzhou and Chongqing, neighboring Sichuan.

4:40 pm

Premier Wen Jiabao, heading the disaster relief headquarters, boards plane bound for Sichuan. He arrives at Dujiangyan, one of the worst hit cities, at 8 pm. He calls on people to be calm and brave in the face of the disaster.

5:03 pm

Reports from Chongqing say four students are killed and more than 100 students injured in a Liangping county school.

Evening

Domestic and international media begin sending journalists to the quake frontlines in Sichuan.

11 pm

The local seismological authority says the quake killed 8,533 people in Sichuan alone.

Day two (May 13)

Early hours

Thousands of relief forces, including army and armed police, are blocked by piles of huge rocks on the roads.

Army decides to parachute soldiers and relie2f materials after the weather improves.

Midnight

The first rescue team of about 800 soldiers force its way into the epicenter Wenchuan amid heavy rain, and rescue operations begin.

Day three (May 14)

10:07 am

The first helicopter lands in Wenchuan. Premier Wen reaches the area at 3:50 pm

12:19 pm

First images of the strongly hit Wenchuan are sent back for the first time through satellite. The camera on a helicopter shows piles of devastated houses in remote villages near the Wenchuan county.

Day Four (May 15)

6 pm

Thirty-one Japanese rescuers head for Chengdu.

7:25 pm

China's relief headquarters estimates the final death toll would exceed 50,000.

Day Five (May 16)

10:43 am

President Hu Jintao arrives in Mianyang, one of the worst-hit cities, by plane, as rescuers continue to look for survivors.

Day Six (May 17)

Afternoon

More than 6 billion yuan ($860 million) from home and abroad is collected by the central government for quake relief.

(China Daily 05/18/2008 page15)