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In pictures: China remembers Sichuan quake

Five years ago, an earthquake in Sichuan Province left 80,000 dead and made millions homeless.

On May 12, 2008, a major earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale jolted China(***)s Sichuan Province, killing about 80,000 people. Above, a rescuer burns rubbish excavated from debris. The Sichuan government had vowed to build houses for 98 percent of the earthquake refugees within a month.
Published On 12 May 2013

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Local residents search for their belongings in the debris of a collapsed house after the earthquake.
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An aerial view shows the earthquake-hit Yingxiu town in Sichuan Province.
A Chinese rescuer with a sniffer dog searches for survivors at one of the two primary schools that toppled in the Chongqing region after the earthquake.
A volunteer searches for victims in the debris of a building in Beichuan.
Five years later: People visit the Wenchuan Earthquake Memorial Museum during the fifth anniversary of the 2008 earthquake in the town of Qushan. The museum was officially opened this week to commemorate the anniversary of the disaster.
Visitors at the museum look at a display of clocks that stopped at 2:28 pm on May 12, 2008 when the earthquake struck.
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Relatives of victims offer incense at the ruins of the old town of Beichuan, which has been preserved as a memorial site during the fifth anniversary of the 2008 earthquake.
Beichuan was one of the worst-hit cities, where most buildings were reduced to rubble and more than 5,000 children were killed due to shoddy school buildings.
Students look on with flowers during a memorial commemorating the earthquake anniversary in Beichuan.