A city reborn like a phoenix from the ashes

Standing in the center of Tangshan, Hebei province, one can see rows of buildings stretching for miles - just like many other modern cities in China.

There is no trace of the deadly earthquake that wiped out the city in 1976. Photos from the time show that nearly all the buildings collapsed. Nearly 95 percent of residential buildings and 90 percent of public buildings were destroyed.

In the four decades since the quake, the city has been completely reconstructed. Last year, Tangshan's GDP was 610 billion yuan ($94 billion) - ranking it No 1 in Hebei and 25th in China - a far cry from the 2.16 billion yuan recorded in 1975.