Beijing breathes clean air again after cars banished and factories closed Jul 30, 2008
Tangshan, a heavy industrial base northeast of Beijing, will shut nearly 300 factories. One of the authorities' main fears is of a terrorist attack and security and public order measures have been taken to extremes. (Yahoo News -- Olympics)
Memories in the Hutong home Jul 28, 2008
In 1976, there was a devastating earthquake in Tangshan, Hebei province. Jing and his neighbors set up sheds in the courtyard so they would have shelter in the event of a quake. (Xinhuanet, China)
China to strengthen control on coal price increase Jul 25, 2008
Prices for thermal coal at major ports, including Qinhuangdao, Tianjin and Tangshan, could not rise beyond the price cap set on June 19, the NDRC said. Coal producers that continued raising prices and traders who hoarded supply to jack up prices would be punished according to the country's Price Law. (Xinhuanet, China)
Emergency Beijing Olympic Pollution Scheme Begins Jul 21, 2008
Tangshan, a heavy industrial base northeast of Beijing will shut nearly 300 factories this month to improve air quality for the Games. TAXIS HAPPY, DRIVERS MAD. (Planet Ark, United States)
A touch of blue amid the grey Jul 21, 2008
Tianjin, a port just east of Beijing and host to the soccer qualifiers, shut 40 factories last week, and Tangshan, north-east of Beijing, will shut nearly 300 factories this month to improve air quality. Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers will be forced to return home as they will in effect have no work for two months, and it is unclear if other workers will be paid compensation for the enforced layoff. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Beijing Orders Pollution to Vanish Jul 16, 2008
In the neighboring cities of Tianjin and Tangshan, more than 300 factories will be shuttered during the Olympics. The biggest element of the short-term cleanup efforts will be a restriction on car traffic that begins July 20. (Time.com)
New life for coalin quake's aftermath Jul 15, 2008
This seems especially apt given the country's long history of dealing with severe natural disasters, such as the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, the 1998 Yangtze River floods and this year's snow storm disaster. Nuclear plans on hold The earthquake's effects on China's long-term national energy development are expected to be much more profound. (Asia Times Online)
China steps up coal shipments to power Games Jul 15, 2008
The official Xinhua news agency cited an unnamed source with the Ministry of Railways as saying that authorities would increase transport of coal to Beijing, Tianjin and Tangshan, in northern Hebei province, giving priority to shipments to 24 thermal power plants in the region. The report gave no details on how large the coal reserves in the region are but said that strains on the supply in some areas were "grim". (International Herald Tribune)
FACTBOX - Olympics-Beijing's Battle for Blue Skies Jul 8, 2008
-- Authorities in Tangshan, an industrial city north of Beijing, ordered 267 firms to shut down operations by July 8 to improve air quality ahead of the Olympics. -- Tianjin, a port city just east of Beijing, ordered 40 factories to shut from July 25 to Sept. 20. (Planet Ark, United States)
Olympians Face Circulation Woes in Beijing's Bad Air - Experts Jul 7, 2008
And authorities in Tangshan and Tianjin, cities about 150 km (90 miles) and 115 km (70 miles) from Beijing, have ordered over 300 factories to shut down to improve air quality ahead of the Games, sources say. In all, the country has spent 120 billion yuan (US$17. (Planet Ark, United States)
China to Shut More Factories for Olympics - Xinhua Jul 7, 2008
The Tianjin order follows news on Friday that Tangshan, an industrial city about 150 km (90 miles) east of Beijing, will shut nearly 300 factories this month to improve air quality for the Games. Tianjin, which will host some of the Olympic soccer matches, will also halt construction at 26 building sites near its stadiums. (Planet Ark, United States)
* Earthquake revealed deficiencies in Chinas military Jul 6, 2008
It all stands in sharp contrast to the militarys performance after the last major earthquake, in Tangshan in 1976, when it refused all foreign aid in an effort to keep the scale of the disaster secret. Chinese and Western analysts agree that the militarys lack of heavy-lift helicopters and transport aircraft created the most serious bottleneck in the early days of the relief effort. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
China to close plants over Games Jul 6, 2008
On Friday, similar action was taken in the city of Tangshan, 150 km (90 miles) east of Beijing where about 300 factories will suspend their operations. Beijing is one of the most polluted cities in the world and officials have been making extensive efforts to improve air quality before the Games. (BBC News -- Asia-Pacific)
'Some people just want to make trouble' Jul 5, 2008
That wasn't the case in 1976, she points out, when a massive earthquake hit Tangshan, killing an estimated 655,000 people and injuring another 799,000. Yet China denied access to foreigners and refused outside assistance until years later. (Globe and Mail)
China combines 2 steel makers as demand surges Jun 30, 2008
The new state-owned company was formed through a combination of Tangshan Iron Group and Handan Iron Group ... Hebei Steel hopes to raise its annual output to 50 million tons by 2010, Tangshan said on its Web site ... Tangshan Iron Group: http://www. (Rapid City Journal, SD)
* Steel price in PRC to rise up to 96.5% Jun 25, 2008
A major state-owned producer, Tangshan Iron Group (), said this month it planned to merge with rival Handan Iron Group () to create Chinas biggest steelmaker. Tangshan said the merged company would have total production capacity of almost 32 million tonnes of steel per year, compared with Baosteels 30 million tonnes, according to the governments Xinhua news agency. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Superstitions fly as Chinese reel from a bad (luck) year Jun 21, 2008
When a massive earthquake destroyed the city of Tangshan in 1976, killing at least 250,000 people, the popular imagination quickly linked the disaster to the death of Mao Zedong six weeks later. So far, however, the current government's quick and effective response to the Sichuan earthquake appears to have forestalled most suspicions about the "mandate of heaven.". (Christian Science Monitor)
Interpreting Sichuan earthquake - A different picture Jun 12, 2008
Changes in media coverage -- from Tangshan to Wenchuan ... 8-magnitude Tangshan earthquake in the summer of 1976 claimed more than 240,000 lives and left millions more injured or homeless, people had no history to learn from and were forced to live in doubts and fears ... By declining any international aid to help bail out the Tangshan earthquake tragedy, China tried to show an image of an unbeatable socialist giant that was able to fight any catastrophe on its own. (Xinhuanet, China)
The rise and rise of China's Mr Tears Jun 11, 2008
For example, the 1975 Yangtze River flood that killed at least 85,000 people [1], the 1976 Tangshan earthquake that took at least 242,000 lives [2], or even the more recent 1998 "Resist the Flood, Redress the Disaster" campaign of 1998 had relief and propaganda campaigns on a much larger scale ... See Chen Yong, et al, The Great Tangshan Earthquake of 1976, Pergamon Press, 1988. (Asia Times Online)
$866 mln needed to repair relics in quake-hit area Jun 7, 2008
So far, China only has two rather simple earthquake museums in Qinghai province and the city of Tangshan in Hebei province. "The construction of the museum will require expertise in the fields of geology, planning, construction and social sciences," the official said. (Xinhuanet, China)
China disaster stirs memories of 1976 quake Jun 6, 2008
TANGSHAN, China (AP) The most striking feature of this industrial city is that it looks so ordinary, but there was a time when Tangshan was pancaked by a natural disaster. The last time China was struck by a catastrophic earthquake, in 1976, Tangshan was flattened and at least 240,000 people were killed ... The rebuilding has just begun from last month's quake in Sichuan province, far to the southwest of Tangshan and its broad boulevards and apartment blocks. (AL.com)
* Ma praises China in June 4 statement Jun 5, 2008
Compared with Beijings actions in the wake of the 1975 Tangshan earthquake, Chinas handling of the Sichuan quake revealed that its reforms and efforts to open up to the world had borne fruit. Beijings official response to the disaster, the freedom it granted to its press to report the tragedy, the Chinese peoples enthusiasm in donating to relief efforts, and Chinas acceptance of aid from foreign countries X including Taiwan X all reflected progress, Ma said. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Chinese Helicopter Carrying Quake Victims Crashes (Update2) Jun 4, 2008
5 magnitude temblor in Tangshan in the northeast killed 250,000 people in 1976, according to the USGS. China's seismology department said the Sichuan quake was a magnitude 8. To contact the reporters on this story: in Beijing at. (Bloomberg)
Crisis and Response Part III Jun 4, 2008
When the last mega-earthquake that killed 250,000 in Tangshan occurred in 1976, China was a closed society suffering from 10 years of internal political turmoil, and the government tightly controlled the flow of information, not so different from the generals of Burma today. Beijing did not mobilize a nationwide rescue and refused outside help. (YaleGlobal Online Magazine, CT)
China's Biggest Charity Rushes to Build 50 New Schools in Earthquake Zone Jun 3, 2008
5- magnitude temblor killed 250,000 people in eastern China's Tangshan city in 1976. The rules, enforced by local governments, require buildings that can withstand quakes of between 5 and 8 magnitude. (Bloomberg -- Asia)
From the ruins, China begins to rebuild Jun 2, 2008
Chinese news coverage drew the contrast between the response now and official reaction nearly 32 years earlier to a massive quake that killed more than 240,000 people in the northern city of Tangshan during the last days of Mao Zedong. After the quake in 1976, the government kept the death toll secret for three years and tried to prevent outsiders from seeing the damage. (USA Today)
Chinese Military Engineers Dodge Landslides to Drain Quake Lake in Sichuan May 30, 2008
5 magnitude temblor in Tangshan in the northeast killed 250,000 in 1976, according to the USGS. China's seismology department said the Sichuan quake had a magnitude of 8. To contact the reporter on this story: in Tokyo at asheldrickbloomberg. (Bloomberg -- Asia)
Two fresh aftershocks hit China quake zones May 28, 2008
8-magnitude quake in 1976 in Tangshan, northern Hebei Province, which claimed more than240,000 lives. . (Xinhuanet, China)
Phoenix city Tangshan wins battle for life after devastation May 26, 2008
Thirty-two years ago an earthquake obliterated Tangshan, flattening its buildings and killing almost one in four of its one million inhabitants ... "Tangshan people had a strong instinct to survive. People wanted to live." ... And while Sichuan's suffering was played out on screens around the world, Tangshan's remained largely secret. (guardian.co.uk)
To predict quakes, listen to the animals, China survivors say May 25, 2008
TANGSHAN, China (AFP) - Well before this city was destroyed by an earthquake 32 years ago, the coming disaster was loudly preceded by strange animal behaviour and other bizarre signals that survivors wish they heeded ... "The animals were trying to tell us something. If only we knew that, not so many people would have died," said Fu Wenran, a retired farmer whose wife was among the estimated 240,000 who perished in Tangshan's quake on July 28, 1976 ... The 1976 Tangshan quake was a tour de force... (Yahoo News)
Rain threatens quake zone May 25, 2008
The disaster is the worst to hit China since 1976, when an earthquake destroyed the northern city of Tangshan. China says that quake killed 240 000 people but the toll is widely believed to have been much higher. (iAfrica.com)
Report: U.N. chief arrives in quake zone May 24, 2008
NEW: U.N. chief arrives in quake-hit Sichuan province, Xinhua reports. Officials appeal for millions of tents to shelter 5 million people made homeless. (CNN -- International)
China's earthquake may rattle the political landscape May 24, 2008
When the Tangshan quake struck China in 1976, accurate information was difficult to come by even within the country. The government response then more closely resembled the way Myanmar's military junta responded to the recent cyclone there -- refusing international aid and treating the death toll as a state secret. (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
China earthquake: Beijing seizes on rescue for Olympic propaganda May 24, 2008
Wei Baoren pulled the bodies of his wife and five-year-old son out of the rubble of his home when the last great earthquake struck 32 years ago in Tangshan. This week, Dr Wei, 68, volunteered in Sichuan. (Telegraph.co.uk)
Commentary: Quick media response reveals transparent gov't in China May 24, 2008
8 on the Richter scale devastated Tangshan City in northern China and severely affected Beijing and Tianjin municipalities, causing more than 240,000 deaths. But the death toll was not declassified until three years later,by a daring Xinhua veteran editor Xu Xuejiang, who happened to learn about the death toll of the Tangshan earthquake at an academic workshop in 1979. (Xinhuanet, China)
China's miners toil in misery May 23, 2008
The Kailuan mine near the town of Tangshan, in the northwest province of Hubei, is the heart of Chinese coal country. It was here, in 1878, that the national coal-mining industry was born. (Aljazeera.Net)
Compassion for quake victims is compatible with the quest for truth May 23, 2008
As widely observed, it is the first time China has suffered a natural disaster on this scale since the Tangshan earthquake in July 1976, when at least 250,000 people died ... As it happens, that same year was also the last time that China conducted an exercise in national mourning, not for Tangshan's victims, but to mark the passing of Mao Zedong, who died that September. (International Herald Tribune)
China may accelerate investments after earthquake May 22, 2008
And Su Youpo, who helped guide the rebuilding of Tangshan, a northern city leveled by an earthquake in 1976 that killed up to 300,000, said the new cities should be completed within a year. To turn such blueprints into reality, China will have to summon huge amounts of material, from cement to petroleum, raising the prospect of yet more upward pressure on global commodity prices and domestic inflation. (International Herald Tribune -- Business)
China Orders Patrols of Dams Near Quake Zone as Rain Raises Landslide Risk May 21, 2008
5-magnitude temblor in Tangshan in the northeast killed 250,000 in 1976, according to the USGS.. China's seismology department said last week's quake had a magnitude of 8. (Bloomberg -- Asia)
Pall of mourning falls over the Olympics May 21, 2008
The last time an earthquake approaching this magnitude struck China - on July 28, 1976, in the city of Tangshan in Hebei province - Beijing's response was quite different ... Because of dubious official records at the time, the debate continues over the final death tally in Tangshan, with some estimates as high as 700,000. (Asia Times Online)
Miracles Amid Mayhem May 21, 2008
Looking back over the ordeal from his hospital bed, Yuan said he thought about television news footage he had seen as a child of modern China's most devastating earthquake -- a 1976 quake in the northeastern city of Tangshan near Beijing that killed at least 240,000 people. "I've always thought what happened in Tangshan was terrible, but I never realized the extent of the horror until I experienced it myself," he said ... Nearer the epicenter in the town of An Xian, a crew of volunteers arrived... (Fox News)
China faces toughest after-quake reconstruction since 1976 May 21, 2008
By all standards, it will be the toughest reconstruction task since 1976 when the northeastern coastal Chinese city of Tangshan was leveled by a 7 ... But in comparison with the reconstruction in the wake of the Tangshan earthquake, the mission this time is blessed with a strong economy, which has been growing annually at nearly 10 percent on average since 1978 when China began its reform-and-opening-up drive ... When the Tangshan earthquake struck in 1976, the Chinese people were living under a... (Xinhuanet, China)
Psychological treatment being offered in China's quake areas May 21, 2008
After the 1976 Tangshan Earthquake, which killed more than 240,000 people in Tangshan City, Hebei Province, north China, 23 percent of orphans became PTSD patients. Moreover, he also advised giving psychological treatment to military and civilian rescuers, medical workers and media people participating in the earthquake relief. (Xinhuanet, China)
Hands-on helpers stare into eyes of sorrow May 21, 2008
"I have never experienced anything like this before as I was not born when China suffered a similar disaster - the Tangshan earthquake in the 1976.". But he was desperate to help in any way he could. (Xinhuanet, China)
EIGHT DAYS LATER: More China quake survivors pulled from rubble; toll rises May 21, 2008
Nearer the epicenter in the town of An Xian, a crew of volunteers arrived from Tangshan, the Chinese city that suffered the country's worst quake in 1976 that killed at least 240,000 people. "Now it's time for us to help the others that are suffering," said Song Zhixian, a farmer among a group of 15 older men wearing red hard hats and vests. (USA Today)
China allows bloggers to spread quake news May 20, 2008
"We didn't know that hundreds of thousands of lives passed away during the Tangshan earthquake in 1976 until many years after the disaster took place," sociologist Zheng Yefu said in a commentary last week in the Southern Metropolis News. But word about Monday's magnitude 7. (MSNBC -- International)
Quake helps mend China's image May 20, 2008
It was even more powerful than the Tangshan earthquake in 1976, Wen was reported saying late on Thursday at a meeting of the rescue headquarters in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province. For millions of Chinese, the memory of the Tangshan quake, which claimed anywhere between 240,000 to 650,000 lives, is a painful reminder of their country's past backwardness and political isolation. (Asia Times Online)
Millions mourn China earthquake dead May 20, 2008
His body was almost disfigured," said Chen. After the memorial, residents wandered around the playground, reluctant to leave. WOUNDS WILL HEAL From herdsmen and hearing-impaired children to elderly survivors of the deadly 1976 Tangshan earthquake, from bus drivers in Beijing to barter traders along the China-Russia border in Manzhouli, grieving Chinese are rallying against the disaster. "My best friend died in the earthquake, but wounds will heal, homes will be rebuilt and everything will be all... (Xinhuanet, China)
Scientists puzzled by foreshock-less SW China quake May 20, 2008
8-magnitude Tangshan earthquake in 1976. So the successful prediction was limited to a small percentage of quakes mainly with frequent foreshocks, said He Yongnian. (Xinhuanet, China)
Commentary: National mourning shows respect for life May 20, 2008
8-magnitude rocked Tangshan, a populous city near Beijing, in 1976, even cameras were banned there. The quake took 242,000 lives. (Xinhuanet, China)
Death toll in China earthquake rises to 7,600 May 20, 2008
China s deadliest earthquake in modern history struck the northeastern city of Tangshan on July 28, 1976, killing 240,000 people. Comments. (Leesville Daily Leader, LA)
Burma, China disasters May 20, 2008
Thirty-two years ago the government of Chairman Mao reacted in the same way after the Tangshan earthquake, close to the capital Beijing. At least 250,000 people died. (BBC News -- Asia-Pacific)
* Beijing gives an unprecedented transparent look at disaster May 18, 2008
When the great Tangshan earthquake struck 32 years ago, the Chinese media kept the information secret for a long time, even though more than 240,000 people were killed. In the early stages of the 2003 SARS outbreak, domestic media downplayed reports on the deadly epidemic, even as it spiraled out of control and spread globally. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
* Beijing's responses show a new confidence May 18, 2008
The way the Sichuan disaster has been handled has been in stark contrast to the 1976 Tangshan earthquake. An increasingly confident China could offer a new challenges to cross-strait relations. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
'Five million' homeless in quake May 18, 2008
Its scale was greater than that of the Tangshan earthquake in 1976 which left 240,000 dead, he said. China has announced an investigation into why so many schools have collapsed. (Yahoo News -- China)
Millions left homeless by China quake May 18, 2008
He added that it was more powerful than Tangshan earthquake in northern Hebei Province, which killed an estimated 240,000 people, the agency reported. Don't Miss. (Yahoo News -- China)
'Shock of consciousness' in wake of temblor May 18, 2008
We knew little about it when a devastating earthquake struck Tangshan City in 1976, sociologist Zheng Yefu wrote in a Chinese newspaper this week, referring to the quake that killed at least 240,000 people in a city near Beijing. There was just a brief news announcement about it. (Globe and Mail)
Rescuers find survivors as quake toll hits 32,500 May 18, 2008
He was apparently judging this quake above the 1976 Tangshan quake in which at least 240,000 were killed. send photos, videos ffs to 0424 SMS SMH (+61 424 767 764), or us. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
World: Thousands flee on China lake bank fears May 18, 2008
That compares even with the 1976 tremor in the northern city of Tangshan which killed up to 300,000 people. Sichuan Vice-Governor Li Chengyun said more than 188,100 people have been injured and about 10,600 people remain buried under rubble. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
WP: Crises cloud China's Olympic mood May 17, 2008
"Fight the earthquake," they read, recalling the rallying cry of Red Guards after the 1976 earthquake in Tangshan, in northeastern China, that killed 240,000 people. Many of the younger relief workers wore red scarves around their necks, identifying them as members of the party Youth League in which Hu started his rise in the party bureaucracy. (MSNBC -- International)
CHINA BURIES DEAD May 17, 2008
President Hu Jintao flew to the battered province of Sichuan and Premier Wen Jiabao said the quake damage could exceed that of the devastating 1976 tremor in the northeastern city of Tangshan, which killed up to 300,000 people. Wen called on officials to ensure social stability as frustration and exhaustion grew among survivors, many of whom have lost everything and are living in tents or in the open. (AlertNet)
China: the wall comes down May 17, 2008
In July 1976, six weeks before Chairman Mao Zedong died, the northern coalmining centre of Tangshan rocked to a 7 ... Even in 1976, after 27 years of Marxist materialism, many Chinese connected Tangshan to the fall of Mao's favoured Gang of Four, who were arrested soon after his death ... Geremie Barme, professor of Chinese history at the Australian National University, who passed through the Tangshan area two weeks after the 1976 earthquake, says the political manipulation of horrific tragedy... (Sydney Morning Herald)
Thousands flee as China lake bank feared broken May 17, 2008
That compares even with the 1976 tremor in the northern city of Tangshan which killed up to 300,000 people. And as the weather gets warmer, survivors were worried about hygiene and asking questions about their longer-term future. (International Herald Tribune -- Business)
Earlier calamities in China shrouded in secrecy May 17, 2008
On July 28 of that year, a massive earthquake obliterated Tangshan, China, killing at least 240,000 in the area about 300 kilometres southeast of Beijing and seriously injuring hundreds of thousands of others ... In fact, it wasn't until seven years later, in 1983, when I was ending my tour as The Globe and Mail's China correspondent, that the government allowed some of the press corps based in Peking, as it was called then, to visit Tangshan ... One of my first trips outside the capital was to... (Globe and Mail)
Chinese rescuers still finding quake survivors May 17, 2008
"She had the will to live," said Xu, a demobilized soldier and now an office worker in the eastern city of Tangshan. "I'm just exhausted.". (USA Today)
