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China marks earthquake anniversary
12.05.09
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China has been marking the first anniversary of last year's devastating Sichuan earthquake.
The magnitude-7.9 quake - the deadliest to hit China in decades - razed parts of the province, leaving nearly 90,000 people dead or missing.
President Hu Jintao is attending commemorations in the quake zone and a grand ceremony is being held at the epicentre of the quake in the destroyed town of Beichuan.
Traffic was heavy outside Beichuan, where refugees from the disaster are living in temporary shelter and reconstruction work is based.
Large numbers of tourists have been visiting the area in the run-up to the disaster's anniversary, prompting calls in state media for visitors to be respectful of the feelings of those whose lives were ripped asunder.
Area residents have held private memorial services on the day before the anniversary of their loved ones' deaths, in keeping with local tradition.
Last year's destruction triggered an outpouring of grief around China and united the country in a massive rescue effort boosted by volunteers, private donations, and international aid.
While the government continues to fund reconstruction, the devastation to the local economy and the fallout from the global economic crisis has cast long term doubts on whether or not the region will ever fully recover.
In the days leading up to the anniversary, the nation has also been struggling to contain the worldwide outbreak of swine flu, with China's first case officially confirmed in Sichuan's provincial capital of Chengdu earlier in the week.
The quake has also left a bitter legacy among parents of children who were killed when classrooms crumbled even while buildings around them remained mostly intact, allegedly an outcome of corruption and mismanagement that led to shoddy construction.
