Special report: Strong Earthquake Jolts SW China     

    BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- When the horns and sirens began wailing, Du Chunlian tried to stand up from her wheelchair. But with all her might, she failed.

    The woman who narrowly escaped the Tangshan earthquake in 1976 is paralyzed under her waist.

    "I clearly feel the grief of those who have lost family and friends in the earthquake," said Du, who joined a mass mourning for the earthquake victims in Tangshan, a city that was flattened in the 7.8-magnitude quake of 32 years ago.

    Accompanied by her relatives, Du left home at 7 am and took a two-hour bus ride to the city center square built in memory of the Tangshan quake victims.

    She donated 150 yuan (21.4 U.S. dollars) and waited five hours for a three-minute ritual in remembrance of an estimated 50,000 people who were feared dead in the devastating earthquake in the southwestern Sichuan Province.

    NATION GRIEVES OVER QUAKE DEAD

    At 2:28 pm on Monday, exactly a week since an 8.0-magnitude earthquake jolted Sichuan, the 1.3 billion Chinese people stopped to observe three minutes in silence for at least 34,000 people who were confirmed dead in the quake.

    Throughout China, traffic came to a standstill. Horns and sirens were wailing. Policemen stood in silence, cap in hand and pedestrians stopped their hurried footsteps.

    For three minutes, the Chinese mourned. Office workers stopped working, students left their classrooms, bourses and futures markets suspended trade and even rescuers who were still desperately searching for survivors in the ruins of the hardest hit counties of Beichuan and Wenchuan stopped briefly in remembrance of the dead.

    Top Chinese leaders, including President Hu Jintao, and other officials Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang, paid a three-minute silent tribute from the central government compound of Zhongnanhai in the heart of Beijing.

    The top officials, in dark suits with white flowers pinned to the chest, bowed to a national flag that was lowered at half-mast. All looked sad and solemn.

    Not far off, the hustling crowds of tourists and passersby in the Tian'anmen Square stood in silence. Kite flyers forgot to retrieve their thread. Photographers turned quickly to face the national flag. Children were carried onto their parents' shoulders. Many held chrysanthemums or white paper flowers in their hands.

    The same ritual was observed across China as tourists, pedestrians and retirees rallied at squares and roadside.

    Many were weeping.

    Pian Erlan, 66, cried as she remembered her husband who died inthe Tangshan earthquake. She held a cardboard sign that read, "I'm here to see you off. May all the victims in Sichuan rest in peace with the 240,000 people who died 32 years ago."

    Prior to the mourning, Bai Biying, 80, handed out about 60 white artificial flowers to the mourning crowd that had gathered at the central square in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province. She had made the flowers herself.

    "I heard from TV news about the national mourning yesterday, soI bought some white paper to make the flowers," she said. "The quake pulls everyone's heartstring and the little flowers witness my grief for the dead."

    Liu Bo, 27, mourned the lost lives of his hometown from a construction site in Shanghai. "Our home was ruined in the quake but thank goodness my parents, wife and two-year-old son are all safe."

    A week after the nightmare, Liu, from Sangzao town in Anxian County, said he cried in his dreams every day. "I can't help weeping over the damages in my hometown and the deaths of my childhood friends."

    PRAYERS FROM "TOP OF THE WORLD"

    Two lamas at the Taer Monastery in Qinghai Province held a candle-lit vigil to commemorate the quake dead and pray for the living.

    Thousands of Tibetans gathered in a square in front of the Potala Palace amid heavy rain. The national flag festooning in front of the palace flew at half mast.

    Lhasa garment store owner Luo Ya, a native of Dujiangyan city, one of the hardest hit areas close to the epicenter of the quake, mourned her fiance who died in the quake. "We love each other dearly."

    Luo said she planned to spend more time with her parents, who were fortunately safe in the disaster. "The earthquake has taught us a lesson, and we should all cherish our loved ones."

    Before and after the ritual, the crowds of pilgrims continued to pray and kowtow in front of the Potala Palace. "I saw scenes of the earthquake on TV. There's little we can do when such disasters happen," said Cezhen, 72.

    "Each day, we pray: for the salvation of the dead and blessings of the living. I hope the living will be strong and all human beings live in peace and safety," she said, her prayer wheel revolving in her hands.

    SEARCHING FOR LIFE

    In the quake-hit Sichuan Province, rescue work has continued into the seventh day in desperate hope of more miracles.

    The latest two miracles were recorded Monday morning, with the survivals of 61-year-old Li Mingcui in Beichuan County and 50-something Wang Fazhen in Mianzhu.

    The two women were saved after about 164 hours in the ruins.

    More than 100,000 soldiers and rescuers, including those from Russia, Japan, Singapore and the Republic of Korea, are still battling to search for buried survivors in the quake zones.

    About 36,563 people had been pulled from the debris as of Sunday, and more than 4.5 million people were staying in government shelters, said Vice Governor of Sichuan Li Chengyun at Sunday's news conference.