A nation united by grief

On May 19, at 2:28 pm, China came to a standstill. This nation of 1.3 billion people marked the exact time that an 8.0-magnitude quake struck Wenchuan County in Sichuan province with three minutes of silence.

Across the country, sirens and car horns wailed. People filed out silently into the streets, leaving their work, their homes, pausing their own lives to show they stood united with those most deeply affected by the quake. Many were crying.

Top officials including President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and top legislator Wu Bangguo stood silent in the central government compound of Zhongnanhai in Beijing.

Du Chunlian, a survivor of the Tangshan earthquake and who is paralyzed from the waist down, traveled two hours by bus to participate in this three-minute ritual in the Tangshan city center. Others made white paper flowers to give out to fellow mourners.

In Tibetan monasteries, lamas said prayers and held candle-lit vigils while normal activities elsewhere were suspended. CCTV, the state television network, darkened its screen. Stock markets all over China suspended trading. There was no place that grief didn't touch.

May 19th also marked the beginning of three-days of mourning for the quake victims. The last time the government decreed a national day of mourning was almost thirty years ago, when Mao Zedong passed away in 1979.

Flags will fly at half-mast in remembrance of those who have lost their lives.

Cinemas, theaters, karaoke bars and all other venues for public entertainment will be closed.

Even the Olympic torch relay, China's pride, has been suspended as the nation tries to slowly come to terms with its loss.

But China will not be overcome.

Media reports show that after the three minutes of silence had passed, the crowds gathered in China's largest cities started shouting slogans. "Go, go, China!" "Brave and strong, China!" "We will rebuild!"

And ordinary people are taking up the challenge. Donations are pouring in. According to state media, more than 85 percent of all the donations collected for the quake victims came from within China.

The money wasn't given just by those who could afford it. A migrant worker donated the equivalent of a month's salary. Pensioners like Du gave as much as they can afford, making their offerings even more meaningful.

The Chinese people stand united. (Image: China News Service)Those who didn't have money to give, worked Students in Beijing stood on street corners trying to raise funds for Wenchuan. "We cannot go to Sichuan to help with the rescue efforts, but it doesn't mean we cannot help," a teenaged boy interviewed on camera said. A TV-gala featuring China's top artists raised more than 1.5 billion yuan towards relief efforts.

Overseas Chinese have also shown their solidarity with the people in their homeland. From Sweden to London, fund-raising projects have been put up to try and send aid to the badly-hit regions in Sichuan.

All over China, people are taking the initiative. They pack their cars with food, clothes, blanket and drive from wherever they are to bring relief to the quake site. There are so many people doing this that authorities have had to put donation drop-off points outside the cities to make way for military and rescue vehicles.

In the first few hours after the quake, long queues formed outside blood donation stations. Because of the number of blood donors, stations have requested that people call ahead.

Even in the hardest hit areas, the work of rebuilding has begun. Schools, made from materials donated by construction and development companies are slowly being put up by volunteers. Pupils have even gone back to class, determined, as one student said, "to study harder, so that we can rebuild our homeland better."

The Chinese saying "Zhòng zhì chéng chéng" (众志成城) says it all. It is the people, not the structures, that make a community. A united China – whether in grief or in joy – is a nation that will remain strong.