Chinese county in sorrow: the bereaved mourn in Beichuan on quake anniversary

A REST FOR MOTHER

A seemingly endless stream of vehicles, carrying tens of thousands of people, lined the narrow road leading to the quake-flattened county seat, the closest major town to the quake's epicenter, on Tuesday. Traffic was so heavy that many had to park by the roadside and proceed on foot.

Xiong Ying, 23, a student at the Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, set out from Jiangyou City, another quake-stricken area, before dawn. She drove for four hours, walked for two hours, took a 20-minute bus ride and walked another 90 minutes before reaching the ruins of Beichuan.

"My hometown Jiangyou was also destroyed, so I always feel that I share the feelings of Beichuan residents," Xiong said. "I must come to express my condolences."

People carried bundles of chrysanthemums and paper money to burn for the dead. Some, shocked by the ruins, took photos of twisted buildings and smashed cars.

Burning candles, sticks of incense and the debris of firecrackers were scattered among dilapidated walls and stones.

Wu Youde carefully chose a piece of flat ground, drew a circle with white lime powder and put a yellow, two-story paper house inside it.