Rice then went to Qinjianrenjia that houses 8,000 people, and asked about the condition of temporary houses. Mayor of Dujiangyan Xu Xingguo told her the city has built more than 3,500 prefab houses, settling more than 8,000 people now and planning to add 4,000 people in the future.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (L, Front) visits the debris of a sports club in Dujiangyan City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, June 29, 2008. (Xinhua Photo) 

Rice commended the efforts of medical staff. "You have done a good job. You saved a lot of people," she told Doctor Jin Weitie.

Later on she visited a culture center in the settlement where she watched the Beijing opera and a show performed by the children.

"It is good to see people are recovering and going on with their lives, and children are studying and performing", she said.

She presented a book on US national parks to 14-year-old boy, Zhou Yifan, after they chatted together in English. She inscribed the book with a message of good wishes.