Beichuan County, one of the worst-hit regions in the May 12 earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan Province, has started collecting quake-related items for memories, local authorities said on Sunday.

A special team has been set up by the local government to discover objects that serve as evidence for the earthquake, rescue and relief operations, international assistance and after-quake reconstruction, said officials of Beichuan Autonomous County of Qiang Nationality.

More than 8,600 of the 13,000 people living in Beichuan's county seat were killed in the quake. Experts have chosen Bangdengqiao, a flat land bordering Anchang and Huangtu townships in neighboring Anxian County, as the new site for Beichuan.

(Xinhua News Agency June 15, 2008)