Rebuilding lives

A medical worker at the Dzatod County People's Hospital in Yushu on Aug 6 attends to 23-year-old Gartsok and her newborn twins. [Provided to China Daily]

The new emergency department has 18 employees and five ambulances. Liang and her other colleagues also have more opportunities to learn from doctors from the country's top hospitals.

She visited the Beijing Emergency Treatment Center in May 2012 and learned the latest emergency rescue techniques for three months.

Liang said she lost a number of family members in the quake and times were tough in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.

"Things have been getting better in the past four years. Early after the earthquake, we rarely smiled," Liang said.

"But life should move on. I used to admire the good facilities and working circumstances in Xining. Now we also have those. During our visits to Beijing, the strong feelings of being cared for and loved also inspired me. You can see smiles returning to our faces," she said.

Giving hope

About one km from Yushu Prefecture People's Hospital, 1,716 children are having lessons in the new Yushu No 1 Primary School. The school started in 1929 as the first primary school providing Mandarin lessons in the south of Qinghai.

Most schools in Yushu collapsed or became unsafe because of the quake and 32 of them, including Yushu No 1 Primary School, have been rebuilt.

The construction of the school was completed in 2012 with the 44 million yuan donation from the Red Cross Society of Jiangsu province.

Students now enjoy a 400-meter running track and a football field for the first time. More than 10 classrooms were added. A new library, basketball field and computer learning classes are also available.

"The facilities in most schools in Yushu used to be very outdated. Physical education classes were just about students playing the basic games they knew outside school," said Sang Liao, a PE and math teacher in Yushu No 1 Primary School.

The school also used the donations to buy 40 electronic organs for many students to acquaint themselves with musical instruments and create their own music.

"Music teachers only taught students singing in the past. We wanted to bring more happiness to the students and give them opportunities to nurture their creativity. The funds allowed us to do that," said Kunga Tenchou, president of the school.

"Music and sports have helped those students affected by the quake to recover from the shock and sadness. They have brought back some vitality in the school and given hope to the children."