Update: Tangshan, July 26, 1996

The UN team arrived in Tangshan to participate in the ceremony commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Great Tangshan Earthquake. We are most grateful for the hospitality of the Tangshan City government, especially Deputy Mayor Mr. Zhang Yu, and Ms. Zhou Yongzhi, Director of Foreign Affairs, who accompanied us during the three-day visit.

At the Yuannan Steel and Locomotive Factory, where steam locomotive was manufactured, near which the epicenter of the GTE was located, The devastation was immense. However, the factory returned to full production within 3 weeks. Many of the railroad cars were immediately put into action to transport workers and material into the area during the recovery period. (See the same site immediately after the earthquake 20-years ago).

Ground displacement of over 1m Evident<>

What used to be a straight paved footpath (white tracings) was displaced by the ground movement. The ground was torn apart by over 1m (dotted line) as a result of the earthquake.

Sewage Pipe Displaced

These concrete sewage pipes, nearly 1.5m in diameter, were severed by the strong ground motion.

Devastated School Library Building Preserved

There are seven sites around Tangshan City preserved as monuments to the 1976 earthquake. This destroyed school library, once 5-stories tall, stood on a university campus near the epicenter. Most of the students in the surrounding older dormitory buildings were killed in their sleep, just one day before they were to leave for summer vacation.