At 2.28 PM on 12th May 2008, a 7.8 Richter Scale earthquake pounded Wenchuan County in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

On May 13, Translators Association of China expressed sincerest consolation to its member associations in Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality, and other corporate and institutional members in those areas.

Wenchuan (population 111,800) ,146 km northwest of Sichuan's capital Chengdu, hosts Wolong Nature Reserve, China's leading giant panda research centre.

(China.org.cn May 13, 2008)