Quake-hit county struggles to restart classes

A symbolic opening of a school comprising four tents in quake-hit Yiliang county in southwest China's Yunnan province inspired many people on Sept. 10, Chinese Teachers' Day. However, the area still has a long way to go before classes can be fully resumed.

A little girl playing in a makeshift tent in Yiliang Couty, Yunnan Province, after the area was hit by a 5.7-magnitude earthquake last Friday.

At Luobinhui Square, one of the largest temporary settlements for the quake-affected residents, Xu Xiaohong, 9, was chasing his peers in a tent on Wednesday.

"I don't like school," said Xu. The comment from the Grade Two student at Jiaokui Town Primary School is normal for a kid his age, and indicates that life does not seem to be bad for Xu.

But for Chi Kuanyan, 17, a Grade 12 student busy preparing for next year's college entrance exam, studying under canvas was not so easy.

Chi is currently living in one of the 203 tents set up on the playground of Yiliang County No.1 Middle School, the largest school in the county with 4,782 students.