Courage, dignity heal scars of Tangshan quake

Promise kept

Yang, director of the center, said the institution represents a promise carried across generations.

"From the day it was established, it has embodied the Party and government's commitment to people affected by the disaster," he said.

"The survival of 3,817 people left paraplegic by the earthquake — and their ability to go on living meaningful lives — was itself extraordinary. That achievement did not come from one medical breakthrough. It came from a commitment that no one would be left behind."

The center sends medical staff to leading hospitals for advanced training every year, while specialist teams are invited to improve treatment for age-related complications, he added.

Tang Yandong, dean of the School of Emergency Technology and Management at the Institute of Disaster Prevention and vice-chair of the Earthquake Emergency Rescue Committee under the China Association for Disaster Prevention, said Tangshan's experience has broadened the understanding of what post-disaster recovery means.

"From the perspectives of sociology, psychology and emergency management, recovery is a long-term, systematic process that often lasts a lifetime," he said. "The most valuable experience is not what happened immediately after the earthquake, but what happened over the following decades."