Construction on a $35 million museum to commemorate the 2008 Great Sichuan Earthquake is underway in China.
On May 12, 2008, the deadly earthquake rolled through Sichuan province with a magnitude of 7.9 on the Richter scale, killing almost 70,000 people and leaving millions homeless. Over 374,000 people were injured and around 18,000 are listed as missing.
Further intensifying the tragedy, poor school construction led to the collapse of at least 7,000 school buildings throughout the region, giving rise to criticism about the government’s ongoing neglect of the poorer province. The collapses were responsible for killing 5,335 students and leaving another 546 disabled, according to Xinhua.
Construction on the museum began in December and it is slated to open on May 12, 2011, the third anniversary of the quake. Beichuan county, one of the hardest hit regions and home to nearly a quarter of the earthquake’s victims, will host the new museum. More than 1,000 students were killed in Beichuan alone, when the local high school collapsed.