Lushan county launches post-quake reconstruction on July 24. The county was the epicenter of the magnitude-7.0 Lushan earthquake that struck on April 20 in China's Sichuan province.

Lushan county, epicenter of the magnitude-7.0 Lushan earthquake that struck southwest China's Sichuan province in April, began post-quake reconstruction on July 24.

The quake killed 196 people, injured about 14,800, and affected more than 2 million residents. About 40,000 families in Lushan county lost their homes.

The county held an oath-taking ceremony that brought together over 1,000 officials and residents who pledged to devote themselves to post-quake construction in the upcoming three years.

Fan Jiyue, Party chief of Lushan, said at the ceremony that the county will faithfully carry out the post-quake reconstruction plan released by the State Council. The county will complete the reconstruction within three years. The county also plans to achieve leapfrog development within five years and build a well-off society with help from other parts of China in seven years.

The State Council released a reconstruction plan on July 15. The plan earmarked 86 billion yuan ($13.9 billion) to cover a severely hit area stretching 10,706 square kilometers, including six counties in Ya'an and six towns in Chengdu, with a population of about 1.15 million.

"We will build the residents safe, economic and aesthetic houses as soon as possible, and provide them with better traffic, living, working, public service and employment opportunities," said Fan.

Fan said the general idea for the reconstruction of Lushan is to make overall plans for urban reconstruction and new countryside construction.

The 2,300-year-old county will fully exploit its historical resources and traditional arts in its urban area, and develop eco-industry, eco-agriculture and eco-tourism in towns and villages, according to Fan.

The county completed transitional settlement work earlier this month. The last 208 families who lost their homes and were living in tents for two months since the quake all got keys to new transitional homes as of July 1.