摘要
Lijiang, an ancient town in southwestern China that has now become one of the country＇s top tourist destinations, experienced a similar fate in 1996 to that which befell Wenchuan in May - it was almost completely destroyed by a powerful earthquake. The town, in western Yunnan, used the earthquake as an opportunity to build a better way of life. After the 7.0 magnitude quake, which caused a direct loss of RMB 6 billion （USD 857 million）, the city successfully applied to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
