Around 70,000 people are confirmed dead and almost 400,000 missing or injured after a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck south-western China.
The quake, which was the most severe to hit China for three decades, occurred on Monday May 12 2008 at 14.28 local time (06.28 GMT) in Wenchuan county and was felt as far away as Beijing and Bangkok.
Thousands of people were trapped under flattened buildings and rescuers searched through the rubble with their bare hands as rescue operations were hampered by heavy rains and road blocks caused by fallen boulders and landslides.
China's one-child policy meant that many lost their only child.
In some areas as many as 80 percent of homes have been destroyed. Tents and makeshift shelters cover every available stretch of land.
A series of aftershocks in the following days casued further devastation.