"The mudslide has ripped my heart right out of my chest. They were such nice people." Yang said, wiping away tears. "I did not eat anything in two days after the disaster because I was too devastated to feel hungry at all. These days, I calmed down a little bit and can eat something."

"After all, the most important thing is that I am still alive. I have to move on with my life," Yang said.

Like Yang, many people have begun to rebuild their lives in spite of the grief. Businesses can be seen along streets. Volunteers are collecting garbage. Some survivors are watching TV outside tents and somewhile others are walking back and forth, each carrying a basket of bottled water or vegetables. Some of the survivors were provided with steamed rice and dishes, instead of instant noodles, as well as two bottles of water for each meal.

Deng Xiaolong, deputy head of Gansu Administration of Industry and Commerce, said the vegetable supply was adequate with 5 tonnes per day, and food safety was guaranteed.

A total of 30 mobile toilets had been installed, as of Wednesday, according to local disaster relief headquarters. Further, survivors can take showers in a field shower vehicle, available since Wednesday, which would provide bathing for 60 to 80 people per hour.

According to local authorities, about 3,400 pupils from the county' s two elementary schools would be transferred to the nearby No. 1 Middle School, the only high school in the county, which is currently being used as an emergency shelter. A total of 3,040 high school students would move to four schools in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu, to continue their study.

Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu on Wednesday called on authorities to focus on resettlement of survivors in Zhouqu and endeavored to provide them with adequate food, clothes, shelter, medical services and drinking water.

Hui also urged more efforts to ensure public order in the mudslide-hit regions, adding that schools should resume classes in the upcoming fall semester, while banks and postal offices should reopen as soon as possible.

Yao Weijuan, an 18 year-old high school graduate, is waiting for her admission letter from a college in Lanzhou. Her family' s 6-room flat was submerged by the swelling Bailong River, which runs through the county. Her studies would be funded only by her grandfather' s retirement pension.

"I am really longing to study in college," Yao said, "I will try to find a part-time job to pay my tuition and hopefully cover some expenses of my family."

Yao' s dream is to come back to Zhouqu and become an English teacher after finishing the four-year college study in Lanzhou.

"I hope my hometown could be rebuilt soon. We don' t need tall buildings. I hope all the new buildings would be safe." Yao said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 20, 2010)