Today is the first of three days of national mourning.

This is the first time in the history of the People's Republic that the government calls for national mourning for an occasion other than the death of a political leader.

At this stage, the earthquake death has risen to around 22 000, and with tens of thousands still missing it may well rise to 50 000.

At 2:28 pm today (8:28 CET, 7:28 GMT 1：28 EST）, exactly one week after the quake tore much of Sichuan apart, there will be two minutes of silence. Citizens are asked to remain silent but to make use of their car horns to honour the victims of this terrible disaster. If your thoughts are with the deceased, missing and their families, feel free to join in the silent tribute.

If you would like to help, you can do so via the Red Cross Society of China.

As fate would have it, I traveled up to Shenyang on Monday morning...

... and thus didn't feel any of the quakes that shook much of the country that day. In fact, I didn't even hear about it until Tuesday. My first reaction was to contact my friend in Beijing, who was fine as there were only slight tremors in the capital.

As we all know, the people in Sichuan (also Szechuan, or Szechwan) weren't quite as lucky, with an estimated 20,000 dead at this stage. My deepest sympathies are with the families of those deceased, disappeared and injured.

If you want to help, contact your local Red Cross- I certainly will.

Bis dann,

Nadine