LIFE MOVES ON

Residents living in tents are unsure of when they will have a permanent home again. After four days of eating instant noodles they have begun to miss home cooking.

The meager food selection prompted one pig farmer, who's pigsty was destroyed by the earthquake, to donate a pig to be shared among other dislodged people staying in a relocation center near the worst-hit Longtoushan.

His generosity provided a brief moment of jubilation as dozens of villagers gorged on a meal of spicy fried meat and potatoes, seasoned with peppers picked from a nearby field, for lunch on Thursday.

The group of salvaged a large wok, tables and chairs out of rubble of their flattened homes, inviting rescuers and volunteers to join the feast.

"The pork will be eaten up soon. But there's always a way to get things to eat," said villager Guan Yanxing.

Rescuers are racing against the clock to get life in quake-hit regions back to normal, with access to fresh drinking water high on the agenda.

Residents in Longtoushan have had access to clean tap water since Thursday afternoon after an emergency water distribution network was put to use. The disaster cut off water supply to more than 300,000 people.

The network, providing 200 metric tons of water per day, can be used by up to 20,000 people, according to Zhang Ming, an official with the provincial housing and rural-urban development department.

Workers are installing another facility capable of producing 100 metric tons of water a day, Zhang said.

However, safe drinking water remains a headache for residents in remote, mountainous areas, where water purifying units cannot reach.

"The locals usually drink spring water and well water, which is likely to be polluted after the earthquake," he said.

Even as the government provides for the living, the dead are not being neglected. Duan Liyuan said the bodies of victims are being buried or cremated upon the approval of their family.