MEDICAL AID: A victim of the March 1 terrorist attack in Kunming, Yunnan Province, is sent to a local hospital (CFP)

Chen and her husband were both farmers from Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan. They were waiting for a train to east China's Zhejiang Province at the railway station when the terrorists broke in. Chen's husband pushed her away but failed to save himself and was found lying in his own blood by police.

Yang Haifei, a local resident of Yunnan, told Xinhua News Agency that he was attacked and had sustained injuries on his chest and back.

When the attack occurred, Yang was in the ticket hall. "I saw a person come straight at me and I ran away," Yang recalled. "People who were slower were severely injured and fell on the ground."

The terrorist attack has fueled anger among people all across the country, with netizens condemning the violent attacks on social networking websites such as Sina Weibo, as well as WeChat, a popular instant messaging service.

A message on WeChat said that although the attack in Kunming created blood and violence, it also awakened a strong sense of justice and strength among the Chinese people.

"No matter what motives the murderers held, the killing of innocent people is against kindness and justice. The police will crack down on the crimes in accordance with the law without any tolerance. May the dead rest in peace," read the official Sina Weibo account of the Security Management Bureau under the Ministry of Public Security.

"The anti-separatism battle in Xinjiang is complicated and arduous," said Ashar Tursun, a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature. He added that people from all ethnic groups know the separatists' menacing intentions well. "We should be united and focus on Xinjiang's social and economic development," Ashar Tursun said.

On March 4, President Xi called for resolute opposition to any words and actions that damage the country's ethnic unity.

"We will build a 'wall of bronze and iron' for ethnic unity, social stability and national unity," he said at a panel discussion with members from minority ethnic groups of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the national political advisory body.

Universal support

The carnage has similarly shocked and outraged the international community.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack soon after it occurred. "Terrorist attacks cannot be justified under any circumstances and under any reasons," Ban said. "This was unacceptable. The perpetrators must be brought to justice."

Ban conveyed his "most sincere condolences and sympathies to those families of the victims" and wished those injured a speedy recovery. "The international community has suffered too much, [and] too long by these terrorist attacks. We must be united to fight against terrorism," Ban said.

In a message to his Chinese counterpart Xi, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia resolutely condemns such heinous criminal acts and is willing to further anti-terrorism cooperation with China.

Appalled by the reports of the significant loss of life, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on March 2 also extended condolences and sympathy to the families who had suffered death and injury.