But Huang had no time to dwell on the past. She wiped off the tears and headed for her small shop in Beichuan town's middle school, which had collapsed in the 8.0-magnitude quake.

Huang's makeshift photo shop consisted of a table set with A4-paper-sized photos of the area before and after the quake, for sale to visitors commemorating the disaster and remembering those who died in it.

The stall lay meters away from the rubble of the school building, sealed off for safety reasons.

"I started my small business here because it was where my son died. I want to stay with him, every day," said Huang, 40.

Beichuan - the country's only Qiang ethnic autonomous county - was leveled by the earthquake and the government deemed it too dangerous to rebuild there. More than 10,000 people, about half of the total local population, died.

The town's middle school collapsed under the weight of a giant rockslide, swallowing Huang's son, 15-year-old Wang Shuangshuang, and hundreds of other children.

In total, nearly 70,000 people are confirmed dead and another 18,000 are still missing in the massive quake that was felt in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces.

"This year is truly the most tragic. We know we are the lucky ones, to still be alive," Huang said.

It was a sentiment felt by many in the region, even as they rebuild their lives and face the challenges of a new year just round the corner.

About 35km south of Beichuan, a new site for the county seat was already decided earlier this month.

Construction is scheduled to start in February, said Chen Xingchun, secretary of the county's Communist Party committee.

The first phase of the construction includes roads, government headquarters, public welfare facilities and housing. Work is estimated to cost nearly 20 billion yuan ($2.9 billion).

About 77 percent of Beichuan's 220,000 displaced residents, including Huang Fumei's family, will be able to live in the Anchang River valley.

Huang said she looked forward to the new Beichuan. "I hope it will be even more beautiful than it used to be," she said.

"My family has lived in the mountains here for centuries," she said. "You cannot imagine how much I love it."

Quake-hit Beichuan has now become a major tourist spot in Sichuan.

People from home and abroad have come to see for themselves how powerful the deadly quake was. As such, the Beichuan Middle School is a must-see for them.

The tourist arrivals have also offered local quake survivors a chance to earn some money.

Most of the businesses are run by her neighbors, Huang said.