Expo mourns mudslide victims

People crowded the Gansu Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo on August 15 to mourn the victims of last week's massive landslide that left at least 1,239 dead and 505 missing in northwest China's Gansu province.

It was the third time in two years that China has observed national mourning for disaster victims, following the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan and April's quake in Yushu, Qinghai.

A banner bearing the words, "Deep Condolences to People Killed in the Zhouqu Landslide" in large black Chinese characters hanged in the main exhibition room at Gansu Pavilion. Staff and visitors bowed and put white flowers on a table under a map of Gansu to offer their sympathies to the victims.

The Expo Bureau also called off all entertainment activities at the Expo Park, and the national flag was lowered to half-mast outside Expo Gate 6.

Interview:

I deeply feel for the victims of the landslide. As an Expo volunteer, I wish I could do something for the Gansu Pavilion and the Gansu people. I believe that we can overcome this disaster hand-in-hand. Go, China! Go, Zhouqu!

Video: Huang Lan