Ruan Risheng, mayor of Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province, sings and dances with local Qiang people at the key-handing ceremony in Longxi Township on January 23, 2010 (XIE PENG)

Longxi Township, situated in northwest Wenchuan County in west China's Sichuan Province, is a unique area where 98 percent of the population belongs to the Qiang ethnic group. Led by shamans called shibi, the Qiang people worship the mountains and have their own language, costume, music and dance. The area around Longxi is therefore known as the last "Qiang People Valley."

On May 12, 2008, an 8.0-magnitude earthquake centered in Wenchuan left nearly 80,000 people dead, including more than 30,000 Qiang--10 percent of the total Qiang population. With their mountain homes destroyed, many shibi killed and hundreds of cultural relics buried under the rubble, the Qiang people worried that their culture might die out. Preserving it would require special efforts.

On January 23, 2010, a key-handing ceremony was held in the Qiang-inhabited township, with the presence of Zhanjiang Mayor Ruan Risheng. The ceremony marked the completion of four projects by a construction team from Zhanjiang City in south China's Guangdong Province.

After the quake, the Chinese Government assigned each of the 18 provinces and municipalities, including Guangdong, Beijing and Shanghai, to help rebuild one hard-hit county in Sichuan. Zhanjiang in Guangdong was responsible for reconstruction in Longxi.

The four finished projects include an integrated public service project that encompasses 11 facilities, including a public health center, a disaster-avoidance square and a Qiang cultural center. These projects have improved Longxi's ability to function as a township. The buildings at Longxi Primary School can withstand earthquakes up to 8.0 in magnitude and 9 in intensity.

The first completed project in Longxi addressed the water supply. A 4.2-km-long pipeline meets the drinking water needs of more than 2,000 people in the township.

As of January 21, 2010, 39 of 55 planned projects had been completed, while the rest are all under construction. All local people have moved into newly built houses, and more than 3,000 students have returned to school. Roads lead to all villages. The newly rebuilt Along Road is equipped with flood-prevention facilities to prevent landslides.

The Zhanjiang construction team paid special attention to preserving Qiang culture. From the beginning, the construction plan considered Qiang culture in terms of local topography, geography, population and resource conditions. The team also focused on developing the tourism industry. Projects like Dongmenzhai of Lianhe Vallage, A'er Village and the "Qiang People Valley" cultural center will play an important role in disseminating and researching the folk culture of the Qiang ethnic group.

Although Zhanjiang City was under great fiscal pressure amid the global financial crisis last year, the city government allocated full funds in time to Longxi, the earthquake-hit area.

As of January 21, the city had provided 107 million yuan ($157,080) in funding for reconstruction projects in Longxi, accounting for 70 percent of total funds. Project investment totaled 88.05 million yuan ($12.9 million), and funds allocated for project construction reached 65.91 million yuan ($10.5 million).

To implement the target of "finishing the three-year projects in two years," Zhanjiang City decided in 2010 to adopt more practical methods to push forward reconstruction, so that every family has a house to live in, people are employed and everyone in Longxi enjoys a healthy life.

(Reporting from Wenchuan, Sichuan Province)