In the remote city of Beichuan, the earthquake buried about 9,000 people. More than 1,000 of those victims were students.
Telecommunications were cut after the fallen rocks broke the optical fiber cables. Some forty emergency repair engineers worked to restore mobile phone service.
A fresh reminder of continuing damage. These rocks fell from the mountains on the morning of our visit. A landslide was triggered by nearly two days of heavy rainfall. Forecasters say they're expecting more rain and more geological dangers. Telecommunications were cut after the fallen rocks broke the optical fiber cables. Some forty emergency repair engineers worked to restore mobile phone service.
Cai Ling, repair engineer of Shanghai Telecom Relief Team, said, "The damage is pretty severe. We are replacing the broaken cables with new ones. Telecommunications in the Beichuan region is relatively fine. we are doing our best to restore it step by step."
More rocks on the road as we get closer to the city. Officials warned us to pass quickly as rocks were still falling, and there was enough evidence to support the claim. We came across this rock, fallen from the roadside mountain, it occupies more than half of the road. We don't know exactly how big the rock is, vehicles going each direction have to detour around it.
Some five kilometers from Beichuan, military trucks line the road in the hundreds. PLA soldiers take their rest and cook in these trucks. Nearby locals are getting ready to move into pre-fabricated houses. After disinfection, people say flies and mosquitoes aren't problem, and they welcome the butterflies.
CCTV reporter Xie Zheng said, "This is the edge of the Beichuan city, we are not allowed to get any further in. People here say the samll butterflies are the most beautiful creatures they have ever seen. And they believe this symbolizes that a new life is unfolding."
(CCTV June 17, 2008)