Premier Wen Jiabao (R front) attends the opening of the temporary site of Beichuan Middle School located in the courtyard of the Changhong training center in Mianyang, China's quake-hit Sichuan Province, Sept. 1, 2008. A new semester started on Monday. [Xinhua Photo]

Premier Wen Jiabao has kept the promise he made to students of Beichuan Middle School.

Wen paid a surprise visit to the school in Mianyang, Sichuan province, on the first day of the new semester yesterday.

His fourth visit to the school coincided with the 110th day of the May 12 earthquake that killed almost 70,000 people in Sichuan.

With about 20,000 casualties, Mianyang was the worst quake-hit city. The Beichuan Middle School alone lost about 1,000 of its 2,793 students.

Premier Wen Jiabao (4th L) attends the opening of the temporary site of Beichuan Middle School located in the courtyard of the Changhong training center in Mianyang, China's quake-hit Sichuan Province, Sept. 1, 2008. [Xinhua Photo]

On the first two occations, Wen visited the quake-ravaged school building. His third visit on May 23, however, was to electronics maker Changhong's training center, where students resumed classes in their temporary classrooms.

He concluded his affectionate address by writing on the blackboard: "Trials and tribulations serve only to revitalize a nation", which has been preserved as a historic relic.

He ended his visit by promising to be back. And he did exactly that yesterday.