A survivor rebuilds his home in the earthquake-stricken town of Shifang in Sichuan province yesterday. AFP

2:28 pm yesterday: Hundreds of Xinyuan villagers are standing with their heads bowed to mourn the victims of the quake.

Perhaps the only resident of the village in Sichuan province's Pingwu county who was not standing was Liu Bing. The middle-aged woman was heartbroken after losing her two children in the May 12 quake.

But she was moved by the solemnity of the three-minute silence. "I lost my children... my home disappeared. I (am so sad and weak that I) can't stand up," she said between sobs. "But the government has been quick to respond. It has restored my confidence I may be able to build a new house."

Relief workers and soldiers were trying to restore the transport link as Liu wept. They were clearing the road to Jiuzhaigou, a major tourist spot. A massive mudslide had blocked the road, and the workers said it could take about 10 days to restore the transport link.

Eight children were killed in Xinyuan village when their school building collapsed on May 12. Though the village, more than 200 km from Sichuan's capital of Chengdu, has 630 residents, only about 400 were living there because more than 200 had migrated to cities to work. And miraculously, apart from the eight children, all of them are safe.

When the quake struck, most of the villagers were working or resting in the open. Even those indoors did not suffer major injuries because most of the houses in the village are made of wood, village head Yang Zhenwen said.

And since the village is half way up the mountains, it did not experience any mudslides. "But we are afraid of rain, which can cause mudslides," Yang said.

Yang led his fellow villagers to open places because they are relatively safe. But, he said, tents or tarpaulins are needed urgently to provide shelter to the villagers in the open.

Food and water are in short supply too. Since the harvested crops are now buried under rubble and most of their water sources cut off, villagers have to make do with instant noodles and bottled water that they get as relief.

And even this ration is hard to get because relief workers have to carry them up from the foot of the mountain. So some of them try to dig out potatoes from their farmland.

The villagers, however, understand the situation, Yang said. They have remained calm despite their huge loss, and no fights or quarrels over relief materials have been reported.

(China Daily May 20, 2008)