Earthquak survivor Song Yanmei (R) chats with a military soldier in Luoyang, capital city of central China's Henan province Wednesday May 6, 2009. The military unit discovered and rescued Song from collapsed houses in Yingxiu township of Wenchuan county, the epicenter of last year's devastating earthquake. As the anniversary is approaching, Song comes all the way from southwest China to express her gratitude and blessing for her life savers. [Xinhua]

According to Yu Wei, spokesman with the provincial government, more than 241,000 houses in the rural areas of the quake zone and 105,000 apartments in cities and townships are under construction, with another 1 million in rural areas and 33,000 in cities already finished.

Rebuilding of rural houses is expected to be finished by the end of this September, while those in cities will be completed by next May, he said.

To date, construction of 46.2 percent of the damaged clinics and hospitals has started, Yu said, adding that the rebuilding work of 99 percent of basic public service facilities including clinics and hospitals across the province will be completed in two years.

Governments have helped nearly 1.3 million quake-affected people find new jobs, Yu said.