Rice visits quake-hit zones in Sichuan

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (L) looks at a children's book at a reading room of a temporary camp during her visit to quake-hit Dujiangyan, Sichuan province June 29, 2008. [Agencies]

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (C) looks at destroyed buildings during her visit at quake-hit Dujiangyan, Sichuan province June 29, 2008. [Agencies]

CHENGDU -- US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday arrived in Chengdu, the capital of China's Sichuan Province, and extended condolences to those affected by the May 12 earthquake.

Rice first visited the debris of the Tengda sports club in downtown Dujiangyan. The three-story building, built in 1980s, collapsed during the earthquake.

Then she went to Qinjianrenjia where 8,000 people lived, and commended the efforts of medical staff.

"You have done a good job. You saved a lot of people," she told Doctor Jin Weitie.

Rice then visited a culture center in the settlement where she watched the Beijing opera and a show  performed by the children.

"It is good to see people are recovering and going on with their lives,and children are studying and performing", she said.

She presented a book on US national parks to 14-year-old boy, Zhou Yifan, after they chatted together in English.  She inscribed the book with a message of good wishes.

Rice was the highest-ranking US official to visit the area ravaged by an 8.0-magnitude earthquake that killed almost 70,000 people.

Rice said that it was not the US government, but the U.S people that responded with sympathy and kindness.

"We talk about US-China relations, we talk at the government level, but it is really the relations between the American people and the Chinese people that really make the difference," Rice told reporters before her departure from Chengdu

"With a disaster of this magnitude, no one can do it alone and we are glad that the Chinese government and the Chinese people reached out to the international community and allowed the international community to help," Rice said.

During her four-hour stay in the province, Rice also toured temporary homes for survivors and saw a water purifier donated by Samaritan's Purse, a US non-governmental organization committed to international relief.

One water purifier was installed in Yonggu Village in Yutang town.  It has a daily capacity of 40,000 liters of water, enough for 15,000 people to drink, wash and bath.

The US government has offered cash and materials worth 2.6 million US dollars for quake relief, according to China's Foreign Ministry.

Her Sichuan visit is part of her two-day China tour, which will bring her to Beijing. She is scheduled to discuss with Chinese leaders a wide range of issues, including the Korean nuclear issue.