On May 12, 2008, a massive quake flattened many counties in Sichuan province. Today, births, artificial limbs for the disabled and new homes have all but wiped out the despair and devastation. Wang Qian reports.

Walking faster and better is all that 39-year-old Deyang resident Liu Chunyan has been dreaming of every day for the past three years. She lost a leg and injured her spine in the deadly 8.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Sichuan province on May 12, 2008. Its epicenter was located in Wenchuan county, close to Deyang city.

Today, but for the crutches, there is nothing to connect her sunny face to her terrible ordeal of 2008.

The deadly quake claimed nearly 70,000 lives, and left some 18,000 missing, besides disabling tens of thousands.

Liu will never forget that afternoon when she and about 30 other workers were having a meeting on the third floor of the Tianma coal factory, in Hanwang town, when the quake hit.

Seventeen people were killed instantaneously. Liu lay buried for a whole day. When she was finally pulled out, she lost her left leg.

Lying prone in bed for three months, Liu contemplated suicide but her husband's care and her 13-year-old son's presence not only pulled her back from the brink of despair, but also gave her courage to face life anew.

After being fitted with an artificial limb, given to her free of charge, Liu would spend more than eight hours exercising every day in the Deyang Rehabilitation, Prosthetic and Orthotic Center in Sichuan province that is supported by Hong Kong Red Cross.

Video: Lin Hanqing & Lou Yi
Camera: Wang Qian
Voiceover: Feng Xin
Producer: Flora Yue