China Quake 1 year Anniversary

BEICHUAN – China marked the first anniversary of a massive earthquake today in a somber, nationally televised ceremony. The proceedings were filled with flowers and speeches, as the normally distant Chinese leadership provided an unusually cathartic public moment.

The 30-minute memorial service in front of a destroyed school in the Sichuan Province town of Yingxiu followed a minute of silence that began at 2:28 p.m. (0628 GMT), the moment the magnitude-7.9 temblor shook China — and some countries beyond — on May 12, 2008. More>>

• Slideshow: China quake remembered 1 year later
• Video: One year on, China quake town mourns AFP
• Video: China marks quake anniversary Reuters

People visit the quake devastated town of Beichuan, southwestern China's Sichuan Province, May 12, 2009. State leaders laid flowers and survivors burned paper money for departed spirits as a mournful China marked the first anniversary today of devastating quake that left nearly 90,000 people dead or missing and 5 million homeless, while ruining Sharon Stone's reputation (AP/Ng Han Guan). MORE PHOTOS