CRI听力: 2nd Anniversary for Wenchuan Quake

Two years ago today, the Wenchuan earthquake hit Sichuan, eventually claiming 87,000 lives in the Southwest Chinese province. Our reporter Zhao Yang now on how things have changed over the last 24 months.



Wenchuan was a land of misery two years ago after the earth quake hit the area. It toppled houses and schools, virtually destroying entire villages, and irrepreably changed everyone's world there.

But today, two years on, reconstruction efforts by both the goverment and the local people have created a sence of normalcy in the area.

Yang Fugui was living in the village of Mianzhu when the quake hit. He survived, and is now doing quite well for himself.

"My income has exceeded the pre-disaster level, since there are more job opportunities created during the rebuilding period. My annual income reaches 50-60 thousand yuan now, and the government provide some compensation for me to build new home."

The rural surrounding near Yang's house can now easily match some of the luxury villas in suburban areas.

The money for re-building the houses in the area came from the government's housing compensation program, the compensation farmers got by transferring their original house sites, and their own savings.

Though various economic indicators haven't yet reverted to pre-quake levels, statistics show the income of most people in Wenchuan has increased significantly.

A local Social welfare official, Ye Zhuang, says the rise in incomes can be attributed to more job opportunities created during the rebuilding of infrastructure and the recovery of industries.

"We have been trying hard to improve the livelihood of local residents, while sparing no effort to finish the rebuilding work on time. In the past 2 years, we allocate unemployment issuance worth 700 million yuan, and provide employment training for 900 thousand people."

According to the nation's overall planning for post-quake restoration and reconstruction in Sichuan, the reconstruction of the quake-affected areas are to be achieved within three years.

For CRI, I'm Zhao Yang.