Vladivostok-500 Chinese Quake Children in Russia for Rehabilitation

On Thursday, more than 500 Chinese children who survived the Wenchuan Earthquake last year, arrived in Russia's Far East city Vladivostok to participate in a three-week rehabilitation program.

The children, 340 from Sichuan Province (southwest China), 100 from Shaanxi Province (north China) and 110 from Gansu Province (northwest China), will study Russian and learn songs, dances and handcrafts in a child center, 35 kilometers away from downtown Vladivostok.

Soudbite: Lyubov Drozdova, deputy governor of Russia's Primorsky Krai "This is the second time we receive quake-affected children from China. It is a very important thing and has become a tradition."

The children are aged from 10 to 16, and have learned some Russian language before flying to Vladivostok, said Yu Jihai, an official with China's Ministry of Education who is leading the delegation.

Soundbite: Yu Jihai, with China's Ministry of Education "Besides economic and military cooperation, this activity is a spotlight in China-Russia bilateral exchanges this year. It is of great significance as it aims to plant the seeds of friendship between youths of our two countries. I believe some of them will become friendship ambassadors when they grow up, and make contributions to China-Russia friendly cooperation."

An earthquake measuring 8 magnitude on the Richter scale struck Sichuan and neighboring provinces on May 12 in 2008, leaving more than 87,000 people dead or missing and over 370,000 injured.

During a visit to China last year, President Dmitry Medvedev invited students from the quake-hit areas to take rehabilitation programs in Russia. About 1,000 Chinese children took part in the programs last year.

Yu said last year's rehabilitation program was very successful and helped the children cope with their nightmares.

(Xinhua News Agency July 25, 2009)