It is learnt that resettlement plans for displaced people have not been finalized.

However, not every elderly person is as strong-willed as Liu.

At another corner of the stadium, an 82-year-old man was walking slowly. Hearing-impaired, he rarely talks to anyone, and the assistance card hanging around his neck read: "Cao Gongxiao, from Qushan, Beichuan".

With the help of a local, Cao told reporters that on the day after the quake, he tried to leave his flattened home and walked for an hour to get to Renjiaping, where he was picked up by rescue teams.

"Nothing was left. And neither of my two sons would come back to see me," he said, holding back tears.

Cao said his wife died years ago and his sons are in cities as migrant workers. "I have no one to turn to other than the government," he said. When given 200 yuan ($29) by a reporter, Cao couldn't help crying. "Thanks, thanks, you're a good person," he kept saying.

Sichuan, with a rural population of about 53 million, is a major source of migrant workers. Many young people work in coastal regions, leaving the elderly behind. After the quake, many rushed home but found their parents missing.

Wang Xiaogang, a Mianyang official, said it's hard to estimate the number of such lonely parents, "but it's sure to be high".

On the walls of the stadium and nearby poles hang dozens of posters looking for missing parents.

Chen Ju, a 33-year-old who came back from Tangshan, Hebei province, said he had just found his parents.

"I'm lucky to find them safe. Only my daughter suffered a fracture," he said.

"But what is the next step? My family home has been ruined. How can I take all of them to Tangshan?"

Psychologists said the elderly need as much comfort as children.

Lu Jianguo, a psychologist from Chengdu Medical College, said he has found many severely traumatized elderly people in the stadium.

"Some lost their family members and others lost houses," Lu said. "Unlike the young people, the elderly often fall into despair because they think they are too old to start a new life.

"We will first let them cry and tell their stories, and then help them regain confidence."

(China Daily May 23, 2008)