Thousands of people thronged to the quake zone to pray for their loves ones [EPA]

Thousands of people poured into southwestern China to mourn the dead as the country marked one year after a deadly earthquake devastated parts of Sichuan province.

Survivors and relatives gathered in towns across the quake-hit region to burn incense and ritual paper money, and leave wreaths for lost loved ones ahead of commemorations on Tuesday.

At least 70,000 people were killed while another 17,000 are missing and presumed dead following the magnitude-7.9 earthquake - the deadliest to hit China in decades.

Aid organisations estimate more than 370,000 were injured, and millions of others were left homeless.

Memorial

To mark the anniversary, the government will televise a memorial service in Beichuan, the worst-hit town closest to the epicentre of the quake, on Tuesday afternoon.

The event is expected to be attended by Chinese leaders and Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general.

Visiting the disaster zone on the eve of the anniversary, Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, praised the response to the calamity as a model of patriotic resolve.

He said at a meeting with foreign diplomats in Chengdu on Monday night that the disaster had galvanised China.

"Confronted with this immense disaster, the masses of Chinese people and military were as one, forming a fortress of unified resolve," Hu was quoted as saying by the China News Service.

In thanking foreign countries for their donations and support during the post-disaster period, the Chinese president said there were already dramatic improvements in the quality of life of survivors.

Bitter memories

But the quake has left a bitter legacy among parents of children who were killed when classrooms crumbled while buildings around them remained mostly intact, allegedly an outcome of corruption and mismanagement that led to shoddy construction.

Parents blame local officials for shoddy construction that killed their children [EPA]

Dozens of grieving parents vowed to stage a hunger strike and sit-in during the memorial service in front of the Beichuan Middle School ruins on Tuesday, to protest against the provincial government's denial of "tofu" buildings, in reference to poorly built structures.

Last week, Yang Hongbo, the director of provincial construction, had said there was hardly any evidence that the schools had collapsed because of the poor quality of the buildings.

The issue has been so sensitive that until last week the government had refused to reveal an official tally of pupils who died, saying the task was complicated and time-consuming.

That figure, eventually released in response to public pressure, showed 5,335 students were killed in the earthquake, although parents and activists say the real number is higher.

Parents have tried to sue or petition local and central authorities, but many have been detained or warned against speaking out.

Activists and lawyers representing the parents have met the same fate while reporters visiting the area have been arrested, harassed and physically threatened.

Improved response

In the run up to the anniversary, the government announced that it has bolstered its disaster preparedness and emergency-response system to respond more effectively to future crises.

President Hu said survivors' quality of life had dramatically improved

"Based on the lessons we learned and problems we found in rescue and relief work for the snowstorms in southern China and the May earthquake, we have made efforts to improve the country's disaster management system," Zou Ming, director of the disaster relief department in the civil affairs ministry, said on Monday.

The official Xinhua news agency said at the weekend that China's banks had issued loans worth 205.4bn yuan ($30.2bn) to Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces for relief and reconstruction work.

The destruction wrought by last year's quake triggered an outpouring of grief around the country, prompting a rescue effort boosted by volunteers, private donations and international aid.

For many families of the dead, however, the anniversary is a painful reminder of the scenes when bewildered residents and ill-equipped soldiers struggled to rescue trapped survivors.

"[President] Hu Jintao, [Premier] Wen Jiabao all have come to Sichuan and they are promising a lot of things and praising officials for their efforts," a crippled man in the city of Mianzhu surnamed Li, told AFP.

"I'm afraid that the reality is quite different."

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