Red lanterns held high on poles before rows of temporary houses; the New Year pictures drawn on house walls; couplets conveying best wishes pasted on door panels -- all signal the imminent arrival of Chinese New Year for millions of quake zone residents in Sichuan Province.

The Spring Festival, or the Lunar New Year, is set to be a rather different holiday for the quake-affected families this year as many of them lost their homes and relatives in last May's earthquake.

"The Spring Festival is the most important event of the year for the Chinese, we surely should observe it seriously," said Liu Xianrui, in a community of temporary houses near the downtown of Mianzhu City, a worst-hit area in the 8.0-magnitude earthquake which left more than 80,000 people dead or missing in total and millions homeless.

Liu, 60 years old, lives in a 10-square-meter prefab. Liu's original house in the seat of Mianzhu collapsed in the quake, but the family luckily suffered no casualties. His daughter who works in a restaurant in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, hasn't come back yet for the festival reunion though the Lunar New Year is only four days away.

About 50,000 people from urban Mianzhu were evacuated to the Jiangguan Road community of temporary housing after the quake, which destroyed or damaged about 90 percent of the houses in the city.

The weather is the coldest at this time of the year, residents in the temporary houses have to be very careful when burning coal to keep warm to prevent fire. Each family has a hot-water bag provided by the community officials.

"The quake brought trauma to us, but our life will be better with our own efforts and the help from government," said the optimistic, alcohol-loving elder. He relies on a government basic living allowance of 270 yuan per month.

New plans for future

In Leigu Town, Beichuan county, also a hard hit area, 69 ethnic Qiang families have moved to their new houses, mostly two- or three-storey buildings, before the Spring Festival.

Qiang is an ethnic minority group which mainly lives in Sichuan. Many distinctive houses or buildings such as ancient watch towers were also damaged and some senior Qiang scholars died in the quake.

To better preserve and promote Qiang culture, the county decided to rebuild the Jina community area in accordance with Qiang traditions.

Jiang Chunhong, an ethnic Qiang, said she moved to her new two-storey house in the hillside Jina Community in Maoershi Village, at the end of last month. Her original house collapsed in the quake, but none of her six family members were hurt.

The house cost her 100,000 yuan with a government subsidy of 20,000 yuan. Like another 68 new houses of similar structure, it was built with the help of troops and government.

"Our community will develop the tourism industry and this offers a good opportunity," said the 26-year-old wife dressed in traditional ethnic costume. She has a four-year-old daughter.

Before the quake, Jiang and her husband worked in a TV production company in Mianyang. Currently, she runs a small grocery using one of the ground floor rooms, selling food and other daily necessities.

"If tourism becomes hot here, it will be easy for us to return the loans borrowed from banks for house construction," said Song Guobin, whose new house is several meters away from Jiang's.

Song's 16-year-old son, Song Lei, died in the quake after his classroom in the Beichuan Middle School collapsed. The 40-year-old father now does not like to mention his dead son as he seems to try to forget the pain.

The government and an insurance company offered him about 80,000 yuan in compensation or comfort fund after his son's death, he said. The government also paid 15 years of pension insurance for him.

"We cannot rely on the government all our life," he said. "We should rely on our own hands."

Song now works as a carpenter in his community, earning about 1,000 yuan a month. He said he plans to open a restaurant when tourism starts.

Earlier this month, Beichuan Jina Community Tourism Development Company was established. Tourism will be a major income source for residents here.

Student's new year wishes

In the massive quake, many students died as classrooms collapsed.

"This Spring Festival will no longer be as festive as before as some children in our village died in the quake," said 14-year-old Huang Juan. She lives in Yuzixi Village, Yingxiu Town, the quake epicenter.

Huang was transferred to a middle school in Shanxi Province after the quake destroyed buildings of her previous Xuankou Middle School in Yingxiu. She enjoyed a free learning in Shanxi.

Some 45 people, including children, died in her village with a population of 748 today. Huang's family suffered no casualties, but three relatives died in the disaster.

But for Liu Jingyong, he has to observe the occasion with his aunt's family as he lost his parents in the quake. Liu now lives in a prefab house with his aunt's family.

The government offered him and his younger sister a subsidy of 600 yuan per month for each.

"I will study hard and live up to my parents' expectations," said the middle school student.

(Xinhua News Agency January 23, 2009)