Xie Jingyu, Yang Yi, and Niu Youyi read and play in a relief tent at Lushan Middle School on April 23, mere days after the 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck their hometown, a sign that life at Lushan is gradually returning to normal.

The trio eat free instant noodles and bread and occasionally stroll the campus. Their parents have returned to work, leaving them to play in the tent during the day.

Tents donated by the China Red Cross Society were erected by students and teachers in Lushan Middle School the day the earthquake struck. Since then, the school has become a temporary settlement for local residents. A total of 200 tents are set up around the school.

Xie, a third grader in nearby Luyang Primary School, is thumbing through a book on scientific exploration. He had his eyes on an illustration of a plane.

"I would like to be an inventor," he told Beijing Review. "I also like cars, and I want to drive a Ferrari."

"I like planes too," echoed shy Niu, a fourth grader at the same school.

Yang Yi, a fifth grader, dreams of being a computer engineer, owing to his enjoyment of computer games.

SMILING YOUNGSTER: Xie Jingyu, a third grader at Luyang Primary School, reads books and talks with friends in a tent at Lushan Middle School

BOOK SALON: Niu Youyi (left) and Yang Yi (right), students of Luyang Primary School, discuss what they are reading

HAPPY CAMPER: Yang Yi (right), a fifth grader at Luyang Primary School of Lushan County, Sichuan Province, stays with his friends in a tent for quake victims at Lushan Middle School

(Reporting from Lushan County, Sichuan Province)