Olympic torch arrives in quake-hit town
The Olympic torch arrived in China’s earthquake disaster zone today, to be carried on a solemn run through a stadium that weeks ago housed tens of thousands of displaced Chinese.
The arrival of the flame in the shattered town of Mianyang seemed to further raise spirits, as torchbearers said they hoped it would give people courage to rebuild their shattered town.
The torch will be carried around the Jiu Zhou stadium, where thousands of refugees were taken from wrecked towns across the Sichuan region in the days after a massive 7.9-magnitude quake struck the western province on May 12, killing almost 70,000.
After Mianyang, the torch will go to the provincial capital of Chengdu tomorrow, before heading to Beijing for Friday’s opening ceremony of the games.
The current segment had originally been scheduled for mid-June but was postponed to support disaster-relief efforts.
“I’m very excited. This is a hard-hit area. During all the aftershocks, people needed hope,” said Pan Rongwu, 42, a businessman who transports agricultural products.
“They needed to look ahead. The torch in Mianyang is a type of hope for the future and for rebuilding,” said Mr Pan. “We’re so glad it’s here.”
The province has made swift progress since the disaster, which left five million homeless.
Reconstruction is well under way, and new routines have been established in temporary settlements that have sprung up across the quake zone.
Mianyang was also the largest urban area directly under threat from the Tangjiashan lake, the biggest of the 30 lakes created by landslides caused by the quake.
The lake is no longer considered dangerous after troops built an emergency sluice system to drain it to safe levels.
