Photos from disaster

A woman who would only give her surname, Wang, set up a business amid the ruins selling photos showing Beichuan before the quake, after the quake and after last September's landslides.

"I know it may be not good to do business here, but I have no choice," Wang said. "I am also a victim of the quake. My mother was killed by falling debris, and both my father and I suffered serious injuries.

"I burned paper money for my mother on Tuesday morning and promised her that I would bring up my children, her beloved grandsons, with great care," Wang said.

Her photos go for 10 yuan (about US$1.50) per set, which she said can yield her 40 to 50 yuan a day, just about enough for her two sons' school expenses.

"The government has stopped giving us subsidies," she said, "We cannot rely on the government forever. We have to make our own living."

Life goes on

When they talk about the future, most Beichuan residents, who are still mourning the dead and having nightmares, many wished for a safe life.

"We can never ever shake off the shadow," said Li Yuanguo, 34, who lost his daughter in the quake.

"All I want is a safe life -- a stable job, maybe another child and enough money to support the family," Li said, looking at his daughter's photos saved in his mobile phone.

"We are waiting. Only after leaving these temporary homes and moving into permanent housing, can we have a sense of safety," Li said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 13, 2009)