pring couplets, firecrackers, sacrificial offerings to the dead, folk dances, new clothes, new haircuts, family reunions, New Year Eve feasts and the live Spring Festival Gala on China Central Television. It was business as usual during the recent Spring Festival in the areas devastated by the May 12 Wenchuan earthquake in Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Ming Mao, a 22-year-old Tibetan, even got married during the festival. "When the earthquake struck, I thought I wouldn't be able to get married as we had lost our homes," said Ming from his temporary shelter provided by the government. "But thanks to timely assistance from the government and from people across the country, we have never been homeless."

Ming's neighbor, 78-year-old Zhang Shu, said he had never felt alone these past months.

"Everyone is ready to help me," he said, adding that he had so many invitations for the traditional family feast on New Year Eve that he felt sorry to turn them down. In the end, a local official resolved his dilemma by inviting Zhang to his own home.

While the rebuilding is far from complete, with new houses still under construction and debris still to be cleared, the air is one of optimism and cheer.

Take convenience store owner Lei Sanduo, who was once a carpenter. He now uses his spare time to fix furniture for his neighbors for free.

The most touching scenes were of children taken to other provinces, retuning to squeals of delight from friends and excited observations of how much taller they had grown.

Volunteers at the Beichuan Earthquake Relics said that on the first day of the New Year, more than 1,000 visitors came to make offerings of incense to the dead.

Most were locals or relatives of those who died, but there were also those from outside Sichuan such as Cai, a doctor from Beijing who helped with relief work.

"I have come here to tell the dead that their relatives and friends are okay and that they have every reason to rest in peace."

Wu Fang, a native of Wenchuan County, came back home dressed in cheery colors of pink and yellow, saying:

"I believe a positive and optimistic attitude toward life is the best sacrificial offering we can make to the deceased."

(China Daily February 3, 2009)