Liao Zhi, 33, who lost her first daughter and her shins in the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, now lives a happy life in Shanghai with her husband and second daughter, and a third on the way.

For many years, Liao, a former dance teacher in Hanwang town of Mianzhu in Southwest China's Sichuan province, has inspired others with her story of keeping her dance dream alive and struggling to stand with artificial limbs.

In the 8.0-magnitude earthquake, Liao was buried under rubble for 30 hours with her mother-in-law and daughter. When she realized they had all passed away, she said she wanted to die, too.

Her father's hoarse shouts woke her up, and she decided to survive because she wanted to see him again. In the hospital, when relatives cried for the loss of her shins, she did not — because she was glad to still be alive.

Pain, great pain, struck when Liao first wore the artificial limbs, and continued as she pursued a dream to dance, using a drum a director from Chongqing specially designed for her in June 2008. Her legs bled at the first practice.