MuseuminmemoryofquakevictimsJustsothatnooneeverforgets,amuseumsetuptokeepalivethememoryofthevictimsoftheSichuanearthquakehasfinallyopened,inDayicounty,southoftheprovincialcapitalofChengdu.Everyobjecthasitsownuniquestory.Morethan50,000itemsrelatedtolastMay'sdevastatingearthquakeareondisplay.Mostbelongedtoquakevictims,andwerecollectedfromtherubble.AloudspeakerandmapusedbyPremierWenJiabaoduringthequakereliefeffortsarealsoondisplay.AndthefirstmilitaryboatthatarrivedattheYingxiuepicentertohelpwithreliefworkisalsohere.Thisisabridalweddinggown.Thecouplewerehavingtheirphotostaken,whentheearthquakeoccurred,killingthemboth.Aspecialexhibitionareahasbeensetupforvictimswhowerestudents.Diaries,textbooks,shoes,schoolbagsandotherarticlesbelongingtotheseyoungvictimsareondisplay.Morethanfiftythreehundredstudentsdiedorremainmissing.Theexhibitionbringsbackmanymemoriesofthecatastrophe.Amuseumvisitorsaid,"It'sonlyoneyearsincetheMay12thearthquake.Manythingsarestillvividinmymind.ItwasadisasterforChina.Butitalsomeantthatthecountryhadtobecomestronger.""Theseobjects,videosandphotosrelatedtotheearthquakealsodemonstratethelovethatpeoplehaveforoneanother.Ithinkit'sverymeaningfultocollectallthesethingsandshowthemtothepublic."Themuseumistheresultofapersonaldonationof30millionyuanfromFanJianchuan,anentrepreneurandwell-knownprivatecollectorinSichuan.FanJianchuan,thefounderofWenchuanEarthquakeMuseum,said,"Byestablishingthismuseum,Iwantedtohelppeoplerememberthedisaster,andthestrength,unityandunselfishlovepeopleshowedduringthattime.Mostimportantly,Ihopeitwillremindpeopleofthelessonswelearntfromtheearthquake.Weshouldn'tforgetthedisaster,butshouldstrivetocope."Themuseumisaspecialwayofrememberingthevictims.Butthedisasterleftusfarthanpainandsorrow.Themuseumprovidesanopportunitytorememberthepastforachievingabetterfuture.
