Sichuan folk still full of festive cheer

MIANZHU, Sichuan: Despite losing all of her belongings in the May 12 earthquake, Li Huahui said she feels lucky, because no one in her family was injured in the disaster.

Determined to make this Lunar New Year family reunion dinner particularly special, the 70-year-old said she began her Spring Festival shopping a month ago.

Bereft of their homes, Li and nearly 30,000 other quake survivors will see in this New Year in a prefabricated shelter in Jiannan county, Mianzhu, a two-hour drive from Chengdu, the Sichuan capital.