Picking Up the Pieces

After Five Days, Hope for Miracles Is Slipping Away
Article | HANWANG, China, May 17 -- Suddenly the groaning steam shovel went silent. Rescue workers in orange jumpsuits swarmed over chunks of concrete debris and closed in. Carefully, deliberately and, it seemed, respectfully, they began digging into the rubble with their hands.

China Faces Economic Aftershocks
Article | SHIFANG, China, May 18 -- Statistically speaking, Zhang Zhengjie and his factory are fine.

Tangled Blame in Quake Deaths
Article | DUJIANGYAN, China, June 1 -- Tears of grief and anger mixed with smoke from ritual fires lighted on the ruins of Xinjian Primary School on Sunday, as hundreds of parents commemorated the deaths of their children and pleaded for the government to punish those responsible for the building's collaps...

Draining of 'Quake Lake' Begins
Article | MIANYANG, China, June 7 -- Access was so difficult that heavy equipment had to be airlifted by helicopter. The Chinese premier flew overhead to emphasize the urgency of the work, while more than 620 soldiers labored round-the-clock to dig a sluice to drain a large lake formed by last month's...

After Quake, China's Elderly Long for Family
Article | LEIGU, China, June 2 -- A lone blue tent stands out among its neighbors in this dusty refugee camp, not for its outward appearance but because of who is inside.

Elderly Chinese Cling to Ruins
Article | CHAPING, China -- To reach this shattered, deserted mountain town, Chen Tong Quan hiked for six hours the other day, his third trip back since the earthquake to convince his mother-in-law that it was time to go.

School Collapse Furor Gives Rise to Contrition
Article | MIANYANG, China, May 29 -- A local Sichuan province official has withdrawn from the Olympic torch relay after acknowledging that lax government oversight of construction may have contributed to the collapse of dozens of schools that killed at least 9,000 children in this month's earthquake.

Response to Quake Prompts Burst of Acclaim for Leaders
Article | BEIJING, May 23 -- The official New China News Agency reported the other day that people around the world are suggesting that President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao deserve a Nobel Prize for their handling of the Sichuan earthquake.

For China's Local Officials, a New Test
Article | BAIYUNDONG EVACUATION POINT, China, May 30 -- Eleven thousand people were ordered to evacuate to this mountain slope in a matter of hours on Friday. With floodwaters to be diverted through the valley below, it was Shen Yuanfeng's job to make sure those from her community settled in safely.

Schools Fell While Other Buildings Held
Article | MIANZHU, China -- The day the earthquake hit was supposed to be a special one for Ding Yao. Her hair done up in pigtails, she was sitting in the front of a fourth-grade classroom, waiting for the teacher to hand out prizes to students who had the highest scores on a math test. She wasn't sure, bu...

Citizens' Groups Step Up In China
Article | YINGXIU, China -- Grass-roots organizations and informal networks of private citizens are playing a vital role in getting supplies to rescue workers and survivors of this month's devastating earthquake in China. The government, in a notable shift, appears content to let them do so.

New Town Springing Up in Quake-Hit Province
Article | LEIGU, China, May 27 -- With as many as 14 million earthquake survivors in urgent need of housing, China is beginning to rebuild from scratch.

Earthquake Damage
Panorama | The town of Yingxiu, in Wenchuan county, China, was close to the epicenter of the earthquake and was completely destroyed. The sides of the mountains used to be filled with trees, but landslides have made them mostly barren.

Young Volunteers in Quake Zone Ultimately Find a Modest Mission
Article | FEISHUI, China -- Clad in a candy-striped shirt and red hiking boots, Li Xiaotang sat cross-legged on a matching red yoga mat in the middle of a mountain village near the epicenter of last week's earthquake.

Powerful Aftershock Hits China; 2 Dead, Hundreds Hurt
Article | CHENGDU, China, May 25 -- The strongest aftershock since a May 12 earthquake devastated parts of Sichuan province struck the area Sunday afternoon, killing two people, injuring more than 480 and spreading panic through a region just beginning to move from rescue operations to rebuilding.

Aftershock Hits China; 2 Dead, Hundreds Hurt
Article | CHENGDU, China, May 25 -- The strongest aftershock since a May 12 earthquake devastated parts of Sichuan province struck the area Sunday afternoon, killing two people, injuring more than 480 and spreading panic through a region just beginning to move from rescue operations to rebuilding.