Two locals select red lanterns for the imminent Spring Festival at Liangshui County of Longnan City, a quake-hit city of northwest China's Gansu Province, Jan. 23, 2009. Millions of quake zone residents in west China had made their paraperations to welcome the uupcoming Spring Festival, or the Lunar New Year. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    CHENGDU, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Red lanterns held high on poles before rows of temporary houses; the New Year pictures drawn on house walls; couplets conveying best wishes pasted on door panels - all signal the imminent arrival of Chinese New Year for millions of quake zone residents in Sichuan Province.

    The Spring Festival, or the Lunar New Year, is set to be a rather different holiday for the quake-affected families this year as many of them lost their homes and relatives in last May's earthquake.

    "The Spring Festival is the most important event of the year for the Chinese, we surely should observe it seriously," said Liu Xianrui, in a community of temporary houses near the downtown of Mianzhu City, a worst-hit area in the 8.0-magnitude earthquake which left more than 80,000 people dead or missing in total and millions homeless.

Four-year-old Su Juan (L) selects candies with her grandfather for the imminent Spring Festival at Hanzhong, a quake-hit city of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 23, 2009. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Liu, 60 years old, lives in a 10-square-meter prefab. Liu's original house in the seat of Mianzhu collapsed in the quake, but the family luckily suffered no casualties. His daughter who works in a restaurant in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, hasn't come back yet for the festival reunion though the Lunar New Year is only four days away.

    About 50,000 people from urban Mianzhu were evacuated to the Jiangguan Road community of temporary housing after the quake, which destroyed or damaged about 90 percent of the houses in the city.

    The weather is the coldest at this time of the year, residents in the temporary houses have to be very careful when burning coal to keep warm to prevent fire. Each family has a hot-water bag provided by the community officials.

    "The quake brought trauma to us, but our life will be better with our own efforts and the help from government," said the optimistic, alcohol-loving elder. He relies on a government basic living allowance of 270 yuan per month.