HE JUNCHANG

FILE

Chen Shiwu (center), Principal of Leigu Middle School in Beichuan County, Sichuan Province, leads students to visit the newly built school dining hall on April 22.

One year after an 8.0-magnitude earthquake jolted Sichuan last May, rebuilding projects in the worst-damaged Beichuan are nearing completion. Students at Leigu Middle School are expected to move into new school buildings from tents and prefabricated structures this August.

According to official statistics, a total floor area of 1.997 million square meters of school buildings in Sichuan collapsed in the earthquake. The province plans to rebuild 9,145 schools, 90 percent of which will be completed by the end of this year.

Below: Collapsed buildings in Leigu Middle School after the earthquake last May.