Reconstruction completed in quake-hit area

KUNMING, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Reconstruction work in quake-hit Ludian county in southwest China's Yunnan Province has been completed, according to the reconstruction headquarters.

By the end of November, 26.37 billion yuan (3.99 billion U.S. dollars) had been invested in the reconstruction, with 1,771 projects completed.

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake jolted Ludian on Aug. 3, 2014, killing 617 people, injured 3,143 and causing a direct economic loss of 19.8 billion yuan.

House rebuilding was the priority of the reconstruction work. As of Feb. 8, 2016, 318,000 people had moved to new houses, 80,900 houses were rebuilt and 177,900 houses restored.

The area also saw economic recovery. The planting area of Sichuan pepper in Ludian has reached 15,333 hectares, and output value has reached about 850 million yuan. Using hydroelectric resources in quake-hit area, an aluminum production project with an annual output of 700,000 tonnes has been launched to support the reconstruction work.

A Ludian earthquake memorial hall has also been established.

Covering an area of more than 5,000 square meters in Longtoushan township of Ludian county, the hardest-hit area, the memorial hall will be open to the public in 2018, serving as a patriotic and natural disasters education base. Enditem