Residents in Zhouqu watch an excavator demolish a building that was damaged by the landslide. The demolition will make way for reconstruction projects. photo from Xinhua.

New life is beginning to take root in Zhouqu county, in Northwest China's Gansu province.

After the area was devastated earlier this month by a mudslide, grass now grows on land where rescuers had dug for buried bodies.

Shang Tiansheng, a 69-year-old man born in the county, sits on a piece of raised ground in shadows cast by a leaning apple tree and stares at the gravel and flowing water about five meters away.

"I have come here every day since the disaster, "he said. "My home is buried under the gravel and the flowing water.

My farmland at the foot of the mountain was also destroyed. "

Shang and his wife were lucky to survive the deadly mudslide that descended on Aug 8. His brother's family of 16 who lived no more than 10 meters from him was not so lucky - the entire family was buried in the sludge and has not been found.

The mud-rock flow was about 5 km long, 300 meters wide and 5 meters deep and was made up of more than 1.8 million cubic meters of mud and rocks. The flow severely damaged power supply, telecommunications and cut off much of the drinkable water.

Some 1,364 people were killed and 401 others are missing, the local disaster relief headquarters announced on Thursday.

Shang and his wife have moved to his second home in the county, which was not affected by the mudslide.

Eventually, I will go back to farming on my other farmland, he said.

While survivors are mourning and trying to recollect happy times from the past, the search for bodies continues. On Wednesday, more than 10 days after the tragedy, people were still gathering on the mud-rock flow either to dig with shovels or to watch the excavators.

Yang Haiqin was among those watching the hunt for bodies, hoping for news of his brother's family. Nine people in that family were killed in the disaster, including a pregnant woman who was 10 days away from her due date.

The mudslide has ripped my heart right out of my chest. They were such nice people, Yang said, wiping away tears. I did not eat anything for two days after the disaster because I was too devastated to feel hungry at all. Now, I have calmed down a little bit and can eat something. After all, the most important thing is that I am still alive. I have to move on with my life.

Like Yang, many people have begun to rebuild their lives in spite of the grief. Businesses can be seen along local streets. Volunteers are collecting garbage. Some survivors are watching TV outside tents and others are walking back and forth, each carrying a basket of bottled water or vegetables. Some of the survivors were provided steamed rice and dishes, instead of instant noodles, as well as two bottles of water for each meal.

Deng Xiaolong, deputy head of Gansu Administration of Industry and Commerce, said the vegetable supply was adequate with five tons being distributed each day. Deng said food safety was guaranteed.

A total of 30 mobile toilets had been installed as of Wednesday, according to the local disaster relief headquarters. Starting on Wednesday, survivors were also able to take showers in a mobile facility which can provide bathing for between 60 and 80 people an hour.

According to the local authorities, about 3,400 pupils from the county's two elementary schools will be transferred to the nearby No 1 Middle School, the only high school in the county, which is currently being used as an emergency shelter. A total of 3,040 high school students will move to four schools in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu, to continue their studies.

Yao Weijuan, an 18-year-old high school graduate, is waiting for her admission letter from a college in Lanzhou. Her family's six-room flat was submerged by the swelling Bailong River, which runs through the county.

Yao's dream is to return to Zhouqu and become an English teacher after finishing her college study in Lanzhou.

"I hope my hometown can be rebuilt soon. We don't need tall buildings but I hope all the new buildings will be safe. "