Tangshan, a Chinese city that lost 240,000 lives to a devastating earthquake 34 years ago, relived the pain and sorrow once again Wednesday on another anniversary.

Not only Tangshan, the whole nation's memories of the catastrophe also came alive again as a film about the earthquake, "Aftershock", hit the big screen across the country.

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the industrial city in north China on July 28, 1976, which was believed to be one of the deadliest natural disasters of the 20th century.

Thirty-four years later, exactly on the very same day of the quake, Wu Ze, 46, came to a black marble wall that bears the names of all victims of the earthquake, including her sister's.

"I was 12 and my sister was 16 (when the quake struck). She was the smartest kid in the family and the best in her class. She was just gone overnight, " Wu said, unable to stop weeping.

"Every year on July 28, I come here for her," she said.

The Tangshan government built the 300-meter-long wall, widely known as the Chinese "wailing wall", two years ago for the public to mourn those they had lost, as most of the dead were hastily buried in mass graves.

The Tangshan Earthquake Memorial Park, where the "wailing wall" is located, saw its busiest day of the year Wednesday as people streamed in to mourn for their beloved ones.

An earthquake museum in the park also opened to the public Wednesday.

Covering an area of 12,000 square meters, the museum displays more than 400 photographs and 600 pieces of articles about the 1976 earthquake.