A total of 297 survivors of the massive earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan Province moved to the provincial capital on Friday from their hometown in Qingchuan County.

They were the first batch of a total of 572 immigrants.

The survivors left their prefabricated houses in Qingchuan and arrived at the Nanbaoshan Farm, 100 km from downtown Chengdu, at 5:00 PM.

Their homes and farmland were destroyed in the May 12 earthquake last year which left 87,000 people dead or missing and millions of others homeless. The government organized their immigration after they applied for relocation, said Li Kaiming, deputy head of Qingchuan County.

Apartment buildings, employment stations, hospitals and supermarkets were built before their arrival. Water, electricity, telecommunications and televisions were ready at the farm.

The second batch of 275 survivors will join them soon, Li said, adding that the exact date had yet to be decided.

"We have prepared beds, kitchen ware and farm tools so that new comers can start their life as soon as they arrive," said Gao Jian, deputy director of the civil affairs bureau of Qionglai City under the administration of Chengdu. "Food, oil, vegetable and meat supplied will last for six months."

Wang Tianlin, 46, his wife Lei Xiuzhen and daughter Wang Yurong were among the immigrants. They will live on the first floor of a three-story building. They had three rooms to themselves and shared a kitchen and a bathroom with their neighbor.

Wang said he still missed his hometown.

"The tombs of my parents are all there. My relatives are there. I miss them," he said.

"But I am optimistic. The government promised to allocate some forest and farmland for each person," he said. "I can also find jobs downtown which is 100 km from here. I'm happy to start our new life here. "

(Xinhua News Agency March 28, 2009)