Remembering quake that killed 240,000
Print Edition
Crowds of people visited the Tangshan Earthquake Memorial Park on Wednesday to mourn and remember those killed in the devastating disaster that struck more than four decades ago.
Wednesday marked the 45th anniversary of the Tangshan earthquake, a 7.8-magnitude quake that struck the city in north China’s Hebei Province on July 28, 1976. It killed more than 240,000 and nearly destroyed the entire city.
Liu Guojian, a 71-year-old survivor, visited the memorial park early on Wednesday morning and laid flowers in front of a memorial wall inscribed with names of the victims. He could hardly hold back the tears after finding the names of his loved ones.
“I want to tell them that I now have a big family, and we’re living a good life,” Liu said. “I also want to let them know the changes that have happened in Tangshan.”
After the catastrophe, some people said Tangshan had been destroyed beyond repair. Surprisingly, the city was rebuilt quickly with all-out reconstruction efforts, and after decades of fast economic development, it has become a boom town.
High-rise buildings, erected in places once filled with ruins, speak volumes about the changes that have taken place.
The city’s GDP reached 721.1 billion yuan (US$10 billion) last year, the highest among all prefecture-level cities in Hebei.
As the mainstay of the city is heavy industry, Tangshan has been working in recent years to upgrade its manufacturing industry, moving it up the value chain.
Efforts have been made to develop emerging industries.
These include robotics, high-end equipment and environmentally-friendly building materials.
The city is now a major production base for special robots, with a complete industrial chain comprising research and development, manufacturing, sales and services.
Liu Lizhi, vice general manager of a local smart-equipment company that recently rolled out a new model of inspection robot, said his company had received more than 200 orders in less than a month.
“Tangshan has become a hotspot for us robotics startups,” Liu said.
The city is now home to over 650 major high-end equipment manufacturing enterprises, whose combined assets exceed 127 billion yuan.
With greater opening-up, Tangshan has also been attracting foreign investment and expanding its global influence. Between 2016 and 2020, the city attracted about US$8.5 billion in foreign investment.
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