One month after the quake, Sichuan is trying to get back on its feet. At 2: 28 on Thursday afternoon, exactly one month since the earthquake struck, a ceremony was held to open a memorial exhibition in Dayi county, near the provincial capital Chengdu.
They have come to pay tribute to those who lost their lives.
They have come to pay tribute to those who lost their lives. Visitors may not know the victims in person, but they say they share the same strong feelings as those who have lost their loved ones.
The exhibition is arranged chronologically to commemorate what happened during the last month. It begins with this clock. When the quake struck at two twenty-eight on the afternoon of May 12th, its batteries were thrown out, and the time stopped as a permanent memorial. From computer monitors to photo albums, from cultural relics to modern facilities, the destructive force of nature didn’t discriminate at all. But people here say the hardships will not be the only things to remember.
Visitors may not know the victims in person, but they say they share the same strong feelings as those who have lost their loved ones.
Fan Jianchuan, curator of Jianchuan Museum, Sichuan, said, "I want to provide people with the opportunity to relive this last month. It's an important month in history. We lived through those 30 days. 30 days of disaster and hardships, 30 days of disaster relief, and 30 days of victory."
"Go Sichuan" and "Go China" are the two most popular phrases visitors have written on this wall of condolences. Some have written with their names, and added, "I am volunteering." One little girl drew a lollipop, because she said she wanted to encourage children who have lost their homes, and she hopes they will have as good a life as she is having now. She said she believes the candle she lit can guide the way for the dead to go to heaven. For others, commemoration takes another form.
More than 30 artists from Sichuan are molding a figure for each of those who either died or are classified as missing, nearly 90,000 in all. In three years’ time, the artists hope to have completed a fitting tribute for those who lost their lives in the disaster.
