A high-profile ceremony to kick off the reconstruction of Beichuan, the most severely damaged township in last May's Sichuan earthquake, is set for next Monday, according to local sources.

People read a signboard on Saturday at the site where construction of the new Beichuan county seat will begin. The county in Sichuan province was devastated by last May's 8.0-magnitude earthquake. [China Daily]

State leaders are expected to join the ceremony, Zhang Yan, one of 98 gardeners selected to arrange decorations for the event, told China Daily yesterday.

"I'm very glad to have the chance to contribute to this ceremony, which will get worldwide attention," she said.

Decorations with "vivid ethnic Qiang characteristics" will be completed on Friday, Zhang said, adding that a parking lot "five times the size of a basketball court" has been designated for the massive ceremony.

Beichuan, China's only autonomous county for the Qiang ethnic group, accounted for nearly a quarter of the overall confirmed death toll. Almost 20,000 local residents died or were declared missing after the disaster.

It also suffered a direct economic loss of some 65 billion yuan ($9.5 billion) from the quake, which flattened 36,000 local houses.

Beichuan's new county seat is 2.5 km east of Anchang town in Anxian county and 23 km from the original site. Anchang River, which runs through new Beichuan, will divide it in half, deputy county chief He Wang told China Daily.

Anchang town itself will also become part of Beichuan seat, earlier reports have said.

The focus of recent construction projects is on the east side of the river, while land on its west bank will be reserved for development in the mid- to long-term, according to He.

Current construction efforts involve the relocation of 2,395 rural households, of which more than 96 percent have signed contracts with the government, he said.

At an estimated 7 sq km, the new town is expected to have 50,000 residents in 2015 and 70,000 in 2020, he said.

For that to happen, earlier reports say some 15,300 residential apartments will have to be built in the next 11 years.

(China Daily May 6, 2009)