A woman bursts into tears while laying flowers during a mourningceremony at Dongjie Village in Zhouqu yesterday to commemorate those killed when a massive mudslide struck on August 8 in the northwestern county in Gansu Province. At least 1,248 people died and 496 remained missing last night. More than 5,000 rescuers and local villagers assembled on the debris left by the mudslide in Dongjie, bowing their heads in grief as the whole nation joined them in mourning.

Cinemas closed and coal miners stopped work yesterday as China observed a day of mourning for the1,248 victims of the mudslide which hit Zhouqu County in Gansu Province seven days ago.

But as the nation came together in grief, authorities in the disaster-hit area were continuing efforts to protect survivors from more flooding.

Amid sirens and blaring horns, people across the country stood in tribute to those who perished in the massive mudslide in the remotenorthwestern town.

Chinese leaders including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, students, workers and members of the public paused for three minutes at 10am, a week after the mudslide struck.

At least 1,248 people have died and 496 are still missing.

At Dongjie Village in Zhouqu, more than 5,000 rescuers and villagers stood still in the debris, bowing their heads in commemoration of those killed in the disaster.

A huge black banner hung in front of the mourners, and wreaths lay on the ground. The white lettering on the banner read: "Mourning in deep grief for deceased compatriots of the Zhouqu massive mudslide."

"I only feel sad as I stand on the debris of our homes," said villager Zhang Xiujuan. "Although my husband, my son and I survived, I lost more than 30 relatives in the mudslide."

In Dongjie, two thirds of its families were buried when the mudslide struck. And 368 of its 848 villagers died.

Before and after the three-minute tribute, rescuers including troops and medical workers continued to clear the debris, searching for bodies and spraying disinfectant.

Some survivors sat silently on the debris, still holding out hope that the bodies of their relatives could be found.

In temporary tents, some bowed their heads, some knelt and some put their palms together to pray for the dead. Loud cries could be heard from time to time in the shelters.

"May the dead rest in peace. We who are still alive must be strong and continue our lives," said Han Ying, who lost all her family members.

Zhouqu sits in the steep valley of the Bailong River, a tributary of the Jialing River and is hemmed in by rocky mountains.

At nearby monasteries, monks and believers attended a religious ritual to mourn the dead.

Tibetans account for about a third of the total population in Zhouqu.

In Lanzhou, the provincial capital, about 10,000 people gathered at a city square to show their respect.

Chinese national flags across the country and at embassies and consulates abroad flew at half mast. All public entertainment, such as movies and karaoke, and on-line entertainment, including games and music, were ordered to be suspended. Home pages of Chinese websites were rendered in black and white.

In Beijing, thousands of people gathered at Tian'anmen Square to watch the national flag hoisted to full height and then lowered to half-mast, shouting "Go Zhouqu! Go China!"

In flood-hit Yaque Village in northeastern Jilin Province, the restoration of power supplies did little to raise the mood of the villagers.

"There were no cheers when the power resumed. We paused to remember those dead in Zhouqu," said Yang Hongming, head of the village.

"In spite of the long distance, we, as people also in disaster-hit zones, have a special affection about the people in Zhouqu. We will rebuild our homes along with them," he said.

Zhouqu is braced for more rain in coming days, and thousands of troops are still using large excavators to remove silt and debris that block the roads.

But life is gradually recovering as the relief operation continues.

The county education department said primary and middle schools in Zhouqu would start the autumn semester on August 25, 10 days later than planned.

Many classrooms are being used as temporary shelters.

By noon on Saturday, power supplies had resumed to 8,375 homes, or 76 percent of those affected by the blackout.

Vegetables were on sale for the first time since the disaster. Local authorities ordered 8,400 kilograms of vegetables from neighboring Longnan City and they were sold at the same or lower prices than before the disaster.

But new floods and landslides triggered by torrential rain over the past week have brought misery to Longnan and neighboring Sichuan Province.

In Longnan, at least 34 people died and 63 were missing, said Huang Zeyuan, deputy Party chief of Longnan.

More than 120,000 people have been evacuated.

In Sichuan, 31 people remained missing last night in Wenchuan County, epicenter of the May 2008 earthquake that left about 87,000 people dead or missing.

• mourning [´mɔ:niŋ] n.悲伤；治丧；戴孝 (初中英语单词)
• ceremony [´seriməni] n.典礼；礼仪；客气 (初中英语单词)
• yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
• province [´prɔvins] n.省；领域；范围 (初中英语单词)
• missing [´misiŋ] a.缺掉的；失踪的 (初中英语单词)
• tribute [´tribju:t] n.贡物；献礼；颂词 (初中英语单词)
• remote [ri´məut] a.遥远的；偏僻的 (初中英语单词)
• premier [´premiə] n.总理 a.首要的 (初中英语单词)
• disaster [di´zɑ:stə] n.灾难，不幸 (初中英语单词)
• banner [´bænə] n.旗(帜)；头号标题 (初中英语单词)
• medical [´medikəl] a.医学的；医疗的 (初中英语单词)
• silently [´sailəntli] ad.寂静地；沉默地 (初中英语单词)
• valley [´væli] n.谷；河谷；流域 (初中英语单词)
• account [ə´kaunt] vi.说明 vt.认为 n.帐目 (初中英语单词)
• abroad [ə´brɔ:d] ad.海外；到处；广泛 (初中英语单词)
• entertainment [,entə´teinmənt] n.招(款)待；联欢会 (初中英语单词)
• height [hait] n.高度；顶点；卓越 (初中英语单词)
• affection [ə´fekʃən] n.友爱；慈爱 (初中英语单词)
• relief [ri´li:f] n.救济；援救；减轻 (初中英语单词)
• primary [´praiməri] a.主要的 n.居首位的 (初中英语单词)
• neighboring [´neibəriŋ] a.邻近的；接壤的 (初中英语单词)
• misery [´mizəri] n.痛苦；悲惨；穷困 (初中英语单词)
• massive [´mæsiv] a.厚实的；魁伟的 (高中英语单词)
• temporary [´tempərəri] a.暂时的 n.临时工 (高中英语单词)
• tributary [´tribjutəri] a.进贡的 n.进贡者 (高中英语单词)
• restoration [,restə´reiʃən] n.恢复；复辟；重建(物) (高中英语单词)
• deputy [´depjuti] n.代理人；代表 (高中英语单词)
• earthquake [´ə:θkweik] n.地震；大变动 (高中英语单词)
• northwestern [,nɔ:θ´westən] a.西北的；自西北的 (英语四级单词)
• provincial [prə´vinʃəl] a.省的 n.外省人 (英语四级单词)
• rebuild [,ri:´bild] vt.重建；改造 (英语四级单词)
• commemorate [kə´meməreit] vt.纪念 (英语六级单词)
• august [ɔ:´gʌst] a.尊严的；威严的 (英语六级单词)
• villager [´vilidʒə] n.村民 (英语六级单词)
• holding [´həuldiŋ] n.保持，固定，存储 (英语六级单词)
• ritual [´ritʃuəl] n.典礼；礼节 a.典礼的 (英语六级单词)
• northeastern [,nɔ:θ´i:stən] ad.&a.向东北(的) (英语六级单词)
• affected [ə´fektid] a.做作的；假装的 (英语六级单词)