CHENGDU, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The Xiang'e Primary School, China's first
school with wood-framed buildings in the quake-hit Sichuan Province, will enroll
about 540 students in September, officials said Tuesday.
The wood and building technologies for building the school are donated by
Canada. Construction is scheduled to be completed in June in Dujiangyan City,
one of the worst-hit areas in the 8.0-magnitude earthquake on May 12 last year.
Many students and faculty were buried under the devastated buildings in the
school, about 100 km from the epicenter.
Jerry Dickison, an expert in charge of the school project, said wood-framed
buildings can withstand strong earthquakes and consume less energy and time than
concrete housing structures.
Wood frame structures are flexible, built to resist lateral force and
dissipate energy during earthquakes. The buildings are common in North America
and Japan, he said.
The Canadian federal government and the provincial government of British
Columbia (B.C.) announced last June an 8-million-Canadian-dollar (about 8
million U.S. dollars) project to provide wood frame buildings for communities
damaged in the quake in Sichuan.
Three wood-frame projects are underway in the province, including the
Xiang'e Primary School in Dujiangyan, a special education school for the
disabled in Mianyang City, and an elderly care center in Beichuan County.
Special Report: 1st Anniversary of Wenchuan
Earthquake
