Paralympics reignite quake victims' passion for life

CHENGDU: When Xie Xia lost the bottom half of his right leg after the catastrophic Sichuan earthquake last May, he thought that his life was over.

"I felt very depressed for a long time," said the 23-year-old farmer from a mountainous village that was destroyed in the quake. "I received psychological counseling and many people encouraged me," he said.

But what has lifted the spirits of Xie Xia and other disabled survivors of the 8.0-magnitude quake the most has been the 4,000 athletes from around the world who are competing in the Beijing Paralympics.