Scars begin to heal a decade after Sichuan quake

Scars begin to heal a decade after Sichuan quake

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A decade after a massive earthquake rocked China's southwestern province of Sichuan, killing almost 70,000 people, the scars have begun to heal.

Before & After

Before
. Beichuan, China. Reuters/Jason Lee
After
. Beichuan, China. Reuters/Jason Lee

Before: A man walks towards Beichuan Middle School which was buried under boulders.
After: The same view ahead of the tenth anniversary of the earthquake.

The 7.9 magnitude quake which hit on May 12, 2008 was most devastating around its epicentre in the town of Beichuan.

Many of the houses that collapsed remain buried under the earth and are covered by overgrown bushes and weeds.

In some of the houses still standing, now part of an open air memorial to the dead, wedding photos hang on the wall.

. Beichuan, China. Reuters/Jason Lee
. Beichuan, China. Reuters/Jason Lee

Left: A classroom of Beichuan Vocational Education Centre.
Right: A book lies on a desk in a classroom of Beichuan Vocational Education Centre.

Damaged school classrooms remain a mess, with books on the desks turning black with rot.

Signs in Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean and French urge visitors to be careful where they tread to let the dead rest in peace.

Chen Mingyou, 73, survived the quake but his daughter and son-in-law died.

. Beichuan, China. Reuters/Jason Lee
A mosquito net provided by the Chinese Red Cross during the earthquake rescue, hangs in the old house of surviving villager Chen Mingyou.

A new home stands nearby, but Chen prefers to stay in his old house which he said was repaired to meet new safety standards.

"I am used to the old house. I only stay in the new house when my son and grandson come back to visit," he said.

Some of the most heart-wrenching stories from the 2008 quake came from the schools which collapsed, crushing children alive.

. Beichuan, China. Reuters/Jason Lee
Zheng Haiyang mourns in front of a stele for victims of the earthquake.

Zheng Haiyang, now 27, lost both his legs after being buried in Beichuan Middle School, where he was trapped for more than 22 hours.

"I still feel sad now when I think of that time, but I am in a good condition now. Many people and organisations have helped me after the quake," Zheng said.

He now works for an Internet company in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province. "It's a platform to provide services to disabled people." he said.

Other survivors recalled their own narrow escape from serious injury or death.

. Beichuan, China. Reuters/Jason Lee
Liu Guizhen sits in her old house.

Liu Guizhen, 95, and her 106-year-old husband Wang Guanneng both survived the quake that killed their adopted son and daughter-in-law.

Liu said a rock flew over her head when the quake struck as she was busy working in the fields, leaving her unscathed.

Before & After

Before
. Beichuan, China. Reuters/Jason Lee
After
. Beichuan, China. Reuters/Jason Lee

Before: A covered body lies in front of the ruins of a destroyed old city district.
After: The same view ahead of the tenth anniversary of the earthquake.

The local government is supporting villagers to develop leisure and tourism industries after the quake, and many quake survivors have turned their newly-built houses into inns.

Liu says she also makes some money from selling eggs to tourists.

. Beichuan, China. Reuters/Jason Lee
A vehicle drives past apartment blocks destroyed in a landslide caused by the earthquake.

Sichuan remains seismically active.

Last August, a 7.0-magnitude quake in a mountainous part of Sichuan popular with tourists killed 20 and injured around 500.

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Slideshow

A bulb covered with cobwebs hangs inside a house.
. Wenchuan, China. Reuters/Jason Lee

A bulb covered with cobwebs hangs inside a house.

Abandoned shoes are seen in an old dwelling.
. Wenchuan, China. Reuters/Jason Lee

Abandoned shoes are seen in an old dwelling.

Wang Shiming (left), 11, and his brother Wang Shiqi, 13, great-grandsons of surviving villager Liu Guizhen, watch television in an old house.
. Beichuan, China. Reuters/Jason Lee

Wang Shiming (left), 11, and his brother Wang Shiqi, 13, great-grandsons of surviving villager Liu Guizhen, watch television in an old house.

A boy runs through the site of Beichuan Vocational Education Centre.
. Beichuan, China. Reuters/Jason Lee

A boy runs through the site of Beichuan Vocational Education Centre.

Surviving villager Ma Qingan walks through doors after leaving his old house.
. Wenchuan, China. Reuters/Jason Lee

Surviving villager Ma Qingan walks through doors after leaving his old house.

A card featuring the late Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong and Tiananmen Gate is seen next to a shrine in the old dwelling of surviving villager Wang Guocheng.
. Wenchuan, China. Reuters/Jason Lee

A card featuring the late Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong and Tiananmen Gate is seen next to a shrine in the old dwelling of surviving villager Wang Guocheng.

A wedding photograph hangs on a wall in an apartment.
. Beichuan, China. Reuters/Jason Lee

A wedding photograph hangs on a wall in an apartment.

A backboard is seen at the site of Beichuan Middle School which was buried by boulders in the earthquake.
. Beichuan, China. Reuters/Jason Lee

A backboard is seen at the site of Beichuan Middle School which was buried by boulders in the earthquake.

Beichuan Vocational Education Centre which was destroyed in the earthquake.
. Beichuan, China. Reuters/Jason Lee

Beichuan Vocational Education Centre which was destroyed in the earthquake.