By Hu Yinan in Sichuan and Wu Jiao in Beijing (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-05-21 06:49

Li Jie's much-hated math examination ended on May 12, but not the way the naughty sixth-grader wanted it to.

"We were writing the exam when suddenly the floor shook heavily and a schoolbag-size stone came rolling down and hit my desk," recalls Li, now living with his family in Xingfu town in Dujiangyan, one of the worst-hit cities by the quake.

"Our teacher shouted, telling us to run. The desks were toppling over and papers flying all over the place," Li says.

The primary school that Li attends was one of the few to escape with minor damage. Hundreds of students and teachers were buried alive when other schools in the same city collapsed

Though Li is living in the 1-km-long quake-relief camp that has 300-plus tents, he is still his childish self. He becomes somber, however, while saying that his grandparents, including his sister, were in Wenchuan county, the epicenter of the quake, on that fateful day of May 12.

"They called on Monday and told us that they had survived the quake, but unlike us here, they didn't have much food," he says.

The relief camp tents in Xingfu are home to about 3,000 people now. Xingfu literally means happiness, and the name seems to have saved it from major damage. The residents escaped with minor injuries, though a number of houses collapsed or were damaged.

But still people are afraid to live at home. "We dare not live in our homes," says 37-year-old He Siwei, whose three-story building stands intact. "Who knows whether the building is safe, and who knows whether there'll be a strong aftershock."

He's fears won't last long because a group of experts sent by the construction department are now examining every house in the town and will soon announce which ones are dangerous to live in.

But his doubt is shared by thousands of people who have fled their homes after surviving the quake. These people slept on Chengdu's pavements, parks and other open public places on Monday night after the seismological center warned of a strong aftershock.

Ye Sisi, a 22-year-old girl, was on her way from Chengdu to her hometown of Puyang in Dujiangyan city yesterday morning. "We didn't have enough medicines and food in our hometown, so I went to Chengdu to seek support from my relatives," Ye says.

"But I saw people sleeping in the open in Chengdu It really scared me, so I decided to return home early this morning."

Compared to Ye, people like He in Xingfu are living a relatively relaxed life in their camps. Three families, comprising 10 members, share one 20-sq-m tent, and get instant noodles and water from the local government.

But some people, whose families have escaped with minor or no injuries, have arranged for traditional coal stoves so that they can cook some of their favorite dishes such as ham, a specialty in Sichuan, to remind them of the taste they enjoyed during the happy days.