"苟料, 你活着出去转告我的爸妈, 我这辈子做不成他们的儿子, 只好下辈子再做"

Guoliao, when you get out alive, tell my mum and dad I can't be there son in this lifetime, so I'll just have to make up for it in the next lifetime"
- A boy in year 11 said to his best friend.

"我这把老骨头都还行, 你要挺住"
"Even my old bones can take it, you have to keep it up"
- A father encourages his son consistently. 40 hours later the son was rescued, the father was dead...

"爸, 我先走一步, 我不行了"
"Dad, I have to go first... I can't keep it up anymore"
- A man being buried said to his father just before he died. His father tried to encourage him.. but the rocks were too heavy to move. At approx. 15:30, he died.

"我饿得想出泥土"
"I'm so hungry I want to eat dirt"
- 10 year old girl said as she was rescued after 60 hours... but after being resuced 10 minutes later, she died with that last sentence.

"我坚持不住了. 小雪, 答应我, 你一定要活下去"
"I can't keep this up anymore. Xiaoxue, promise me, you have to live"
- A highschool student Xiaoya said to classmate Xiaoxue. After being recused, Xiaoya is found to be dead for hours.

Rescuers found the body of a young mother covering up an infant of 3/4 months old. The infant was safely tucked inside a blanket, unharmed due to being covered by her mother. Rescuers found a mobile inside the blanket with a message on the screen ..
"亲爱的宝贝，如好你还能活着, 一定要记住我爱你"
"Dearest baby, if you are able to survive, you must remember I love you."

Rescuers found students from the selective high school. They also found a piece of white paper with markings on it. The markings were stick markkings, saying
"姜陈怀, 高中一年一班. 爸爸妈妈对不起, 愿你们一定走好"
"JiangDongHuai, year 10 class 1. Mum and dad sorry, wish you can go well"

A year 5 boy, after being buried for hours, was so thirsty he decided to bit the inside of his mouth to drink his own blood in order to survive. Him and his clasmates had to take turns to scream for help so that they don't tire themselves out. They tried to encourage each other by talking about their future ... however as time passed more and more classmates fell silent ..

A 10 year old girl wanted to buy her mum a late mother's day present. She got her money ready the night beforethe earthquake and decided to get her mum a pair of pink running shoes. Before she left the house in the morning her dad handed her lunch and said "eat well" while her mum told her to becareful. After hearing the news of her parents' death she picked up a flower and plucked the leaves one by one while whispering "alive" "dead''. She became more nervous until the last leaf came. It was "alive". She became excited, face all red. However she was hit once again by reality, and suddenly burst out crying ...

Another group of resucers found a baby sucking on her mum's breast. The mother was still breastfeeding her baby, protecting her baby. The mother was dead. Yet her baby was still drinking off her. As rescuers took the baby away from her mother ... the baby immediately started crying, leaving the rest of the crowd and resucing teams in tears..

 

The State Council declared a three-day period of national mourning for the quake victims starting from May 19, 2008; the PRC's National Flag and Regional Flags of Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR were raised at half mast.

People bidding to fundraise




Soldiers helping an elderly woman to safety



Soldiers delivering supplies



Soldiers carry rescued earthquake survivors to a helicopter

Rescue workers carry an earthquake victim evacuated by boat

Chinese military race a quake survivor to first aid after pulling him from the rubble in the quake ravaged town where thousands are dead or missing

Rescuers carry out the body of a boy from the debris of a collapsed middle school



Newly wed couple fundraising for their wedding day!



Three year old boy Lang Zhen, who was rescued over ten hours after the quake, raised his uninjured arm weakly and saluted to the soldiers who saved his life.

"The salute is the highest praise for the rescuers," said a Chengdu citizen



Blind children praying for the survivors