Answering the call of duty, no matter the cost

When Chen Hong's call finally got through to his father-in-law, he was told that his wife, 10-month-old son and five other relatives had died in the quake that hit Sichuan province last Monday.

But the soldier has no regrets about not going back to his hometown of Hongbai in Shifang county, one of the worst hit areas in the quake, to be with his family when the disaster struck.

He had chosen instead to help with rescue work at an elementary school near his military camp that had collapsed and buried more than 100 students.