Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake, a magnitude 8.0 quake which struck a mountainous region in southwestern China, destroying several villages, killing more than 70,000, and leaving another 18,000 still listed as missing. In the hard-hit town of Beichuan, dozens of massive buildings toppled or collapsed. Chinese authorities decided to stabilize the remaining buildings after the earthquake, preserving the entire town as a memorial to the tremendous loss. Collected here are photographs of Beichuan as it stands today, mourners paying their respects, a newly-opened museum, and some of the rebuilding taking place in the region. See also: The Legacy of Sichuan's Big Earthquake.
Sichuan Earthquake: Five Years Later
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Residents gather before a monument on the 5th anniversary of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, on May 12, 2013, in Yingxiu township of Wenchuan county, Sichuan province. China. #
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Earthquake survivors mourn for earthquake victims at the ruins of earthquake-hit Beichuan, on the five year anniversary of the earthquake, on May 12, 2013, in Mianyang, China. #
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People visit the newly-opened Wenchuan Earthquake Memorial Museum in the town of Qushan, Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County, on May 9, 2013. The museum was officially opened to the public to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Wenchuan earthquake, which hit Sichuan on May 12, 2008. #
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Huge landslides triggered by the 2008 earthquake filled valleys and dammed rivers, creating "quake lakes", and altering river flows. Part of the Jian River still flows through a mountain road tunnel in Beichuan, spilling out over a broken bridge, photographed on May 10, 2013. #
Feng Li/Getty Images -
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Newly-built residences and common buildings in Beichuan county, photographed on May 11, 2013, before the five year anniversary of the Wenchuan Earthquake in Mianyang, China. #
Feng Li/Getty Images -
Newly-built residences and common buildings in Beichuan county, photographed on May 11, 2013, before the five year anniversary of the Wenchuan Earthquake in Mianyang, China. #
Feng Li/Getty Images -
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Children gather around cakes on a table as they celebrate their birthdays at a temple in Shifang, Sichuan province, on May 12, 2013. According to local reports, the children were born shortly after May 12, 2008, the time the Wenchuan Earthquake struck. A Buddhist abbot took in 108 pregnant women in his temple, and helped them deliver their children. On the fifth anniversary of the earthquake, the children came back to celebrate their birthday as well as expressing their gratitude to the temple. #
Reuters/China Daily
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