Houses are under construction in Longtoushan Town of Ludian County, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 30, 2015. A 6.5-magnitude earthquake jolted Ludian County in Yunnan on Aug. 3, 2014. As one year has passed, the post-disaster reconstruction has been pushing forward orderly. (Photo: Xinhua/Hu Chao)
No ceremony was held to mark the one year anniversary of a 6.5-magnitude quake that killed 617 people and injured another 3,143 on on Aug. 3 last year in Ludian County, southwest China's Yunnan Province.
Instead, local residents went about their daily chores of picking peppers, the local specialty, on the hillside. Reconstruction sites in Longtoushan Township, the epicenter of the quake, roared as heavy machines worked to rebuild what was lost.
"We don't want to hold any ceremonies to remind people of their sadness," said Li Shanyun, Party secretary of the township government. The earthquake killed 556 people and injured 1,500 in the town.
"Speeding up reconstruction is the best commemoration of the dead," he said.
Xie Weili spent the day sitting outside the front of his tent watching his new home being built.
The 64-year-old man lost his two daughters and four grandsons. They were killed while farming in the hills.
Xie was the only survivor after a rolling stone hit them. He couldn't resist the urge to look over the photos of his loved ones so he put the albums in a closet.
"They are gone and I can not bring them back," said Xie, who spends many of his days wandering in the community and playing Mahjong, a popular Chinese game.
"It's of no use being sad every day," he said.
The biggest joy for him is the 120-square-meter new house, which is equipped with a bathroom as well as a storage room will be completed before Oct. 1.
Xie spent more than 120,000 yuan (19,608 U.S. dollars) on the new house, of which 50,000 yuan was a government subsidy and the rest was donated.
"I have some pepper crops to support myself and live a good later life for myself," he said.
Xie is a perfect example of the town's population, who are walking away from their tragic past to begin a new life.
According to government plans, Yunnan will invest 27.46 billion yuan on 3,195 reconstruction projects. Residential reconstruction will be completed by the end of this year and public infrastructure reconstruction will be finished by the end of next year.
Housing consolidation has been completed and more than 98 percent of the collapsed houses are being built, said Zhang Yan, head of the Ludian County government.
A brand new Longquan Middle School, where the quake rescue headquarters was based last year, is expected to be completed before Aug. 20 and ready for the new semester that begins on Sept. 1.
The five-story compound is made of steel and is able to resist major earthquakes, said Yang Ping, an engineer at the site.
