Three students from Hanwang county who are staying at the shelter in Mianzhu.

They faced death under collapsed buildings, but songs and smiles helped them survive.

Ren Siyu was one of the quake victims rescuers found at 1pm on Wednesday, trapped beneath the ruins of a kindergarten in Beichuan, about 100 km from the quake epicenter of Wenchuan.

The ruins threatened to collapse from possible aftershocks following Monday's deadly quake in Sichuan province.

"I am not afraid, don't worry," the girl told rescuers in a frail voice.

Brick by brick, rescuers removed the debris to reach Ren.

They found her legs wedged in the rubble, blood covering her lower body.

They could tell from her expression that the girl was going through terrible pain.

As the rescuers got her out, the girl broke into song.

"Two tigers, two tigers, running fast, running fast..."

"I don't feel the pain when I sing," Ren said. Other quake victims have used smiles and similar optimism to help them through the fear and darkness.

In his blog, a reporter recalled a scene in Hanwang town of Mianzhu county, one he said he would remember his whole life.

"Through my telephoto, I saw a boy in a black sport suits, with a mask and safety helmet rescuers had put on him.