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A year after quake, grief remains, hope regained in China´s Sichuan

GRIEF OF YESTERYEAR

As the nation mourned the victims of the earthquake and stepped up building of new homes and safer schools in the quake zones Tuesday, bereaved families relived their nightmarish past.

For many, the trauma takes a lifetime to heal. Zhao Rong seemed to have forgotten about her son when she said smilingly she hoped to have a new baby.

"This time I want a girl, because I already have a good boy," said Zhao, 35. Her smile gave way to sadness at the memory of her eight-year-old son, a second grader whose body was never found in the rubble of a toppled school building.

The boy and his father were among nearly 18,000 people listed as missing in Beichuan, a county that perished under collapsed mountains during the quake.

The old county seat was deserted after the quake but reopened to mourners for four days since Sunday.

Not far off, the bustling crowd and roaring cranes were busy at the construction site of the new county seat. "Keep in mind Hu's instructions to build a better Beichuan," reads one of the signboards.

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