'My job is to serve the people,' Xi says in New Year inspection

EARTHQUAKE RECOVERY

Before coming to the village, Xi visited Yingxiu, Wenchuan county, the epicenter of the 8.0-magnitude earthquake that struck on May 12, 2008.

He visited the ruins of a middle school and laid flowers in memory of more than 80,000 people killed in the quake and the heroes who died during rescue work.

Xi said the ruins must be protected to become a base for education in patriotism.

In Yingxiu, Xi saw a town that had re-emerged from the quake.

The streets are clean, orderly and lined with shops. The festive atmosphere is also thick.

The president visited a tea making shop and a restaurant, where he helped make buttered tea, cook fried crisp pork and grind soybeans to make bean curd jelly.

Xi said the great achievement in quake recovery showed the strength of the Party leadership and the socialist system.

He urged officials to continue to grow the economy and improve the life of the locals.