People mourn victims killed in the 6.5-magnitude earthquake in Ludian, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Aug. 9, 2014. Saturday is the seventh day following the devastating quake that has left 617 people dead and 112 missing. According to Chinese tradition, the seventh day after a death marks the height of the mourning period. People in Yunnan will observe three minutes of silence at 10 a.m. Sunday. (Photo source: CRI.cn)

China mourns quake victims as barrier lake still threatens

Survivors in southwest China's Yunnan Province, with the help of soldiers and rescuers, were fighting against potential secondary disasters Saturday as they mourned their loved ones killed in the 6.5-magnitude earthquake.

Saturday is the seventh day following the devastating quake that has left 617 people dead and 112 missing. According to Chinese tradition, the seventh day after a death marks the height of the mourning period.

In front of her daughter's tomb, Tang Qiping burned some paper money and buried into the ground a laptop computer. "We hope you can continue your study in heaven," she wept.

The laptop, which was newly bought by her daughter Feng Fang with her scholarship, was crushed together with Feng herself in the house when the quake jolted Longquan Village of Ludian County, the epicenter.

"I should be blamed for her death," Tang said, tears in eyes.

Feng, a sophomore of maths major at a university in the city of Chuxiong, had planned to find a part-time job during her summer vacation in Chuxiong. But the mother said she persuaded her to come back home.

Tang recalled that her daughter had been helping with harvesting the pepper after she returned. She was having a rest in her room when the quake happened. Almost all the clay houses in the village collapsed, including Tang's.

It took two hours for Tang's younger brother, who narrowly escaped his death as he just stepped out of the house, to dig her body out with the help of neighbors.

Also Saturday, at the Yuantong Temple located in the provincial capital of Kunming, around 1,500 Buddhist followers attended a religious gathering, mourning the dead and praying for the survivors of the quake.

People in Yunnan will observe three minutes of silence at 10 a.m. Sunday.