The newly built Wenchuan No.1 Primary School in west China's Sichuan Province

The 200-meter plastic-rubber track was built in Wenchuan No.1 Primary School

The 8.0-magnitude earthquake in May 2008 demolished many school buildings in Wenchuan County, southwest China's Sichuan Province. After more than a year of reconstruction, 16 primary and middle schools had been put into use as of August 2009, thanks to the generous counterpart assistance provided by south China's Guangdong Province.

Among them is Wenchuan No.1 Primary School, rebuilt with an investment of 60 million yuan ($ 8.82 million). According to the county government's reconstruction plan, it was built on the former site of Wenchuan Weizhou Middle School, covering an area of 20,000 square meters, with a floor space of more than 16,000 square meters.

With European-style buildings and elaborate wall reliefs, the school looks magnificent and modern as well. One can hardly believe it is a county-level primary school in a mountainous area that was struck by a massive earthquake less than two years ago.

It is a well-designed school with corridors connecting classroom buildings, dormitories and a gymnasium in different function areas. A 200-meter plastic-rubber track and an indoor swimming pool were also built—a remarkable improvement in facilities compared with the old school.

With a green area accounting for as high as 30.6 percent, the school provides a pleasant environment for the 1,600 students it was designed to accommodate. More importantly, all the buildings were constructed to resist earthquakes up to 9.0 in magnitude out of serious consideration for students' safety.

After the devastating 2008 earthquake, it was arranged for students in disaster areas to study in schools across China. As the aid partner for Wenchuan County, which was the epicenter of the quake, the government of Guangdong Province and its people went all out for the reconstruction effort.

Offering large quantities of funding and manpower, Guangdong completed construction on 16 well-equipped brand-new schools in Wenchuan, which enabled students to return to their beautiful hometown in the shortest time possible.

Rebuilding Wenchuan No.1 Primary School was one of Guangdong's highest priorities, according to an official in charge of the counterpart assistance project.