Beichuan

An ADBC Branch in Beichuan left in a partially collapsed state after the 2008 earthquake

Beichuan (北川; Běichuān) is a county in Sichuan.

Beichuan was located very close to the epicenter of the Sichuan Earthquake on May 12, 2008. The county suffered extreme damage in the earthquake. The old Beichuan county seat was located in Qushan Town (曲山镇) and it was also in the path of a massive landslide on September 24, which buried parts of the city under several stories worth of mud. After the earthquake, the government decided that Qushan would never be rebuilt, or even excavated, but would remain in its current state as a memorial. The county seat was moved to Yongchang Town (永昌镇).

While most of the old city is closed off, there are a couple of areas for viewing the damage and paying respect. A museum opened in the old Beichuan high school in 2011.

Get in

There is a bus from Mianyang, leaving the bus station across from the train station. (As of December 2011 there were no buses leaving Mianyang's other major station, Pingzhen.) There may be other routes from other cities as well.

See

Beichuan Middle School was shown in newscasts around the country after it collapsed and killed all of the students in the lower two floors. The site is now sealed off and viewable by tourists.

There is a view point a little bit up the road where it's possible to see the remains of old Beichuan.

• 1 5/12 Wenchuan Earthquake Memorial Museum (5·12汶川特大地震纪念馆), Renjiaping Village, Qushan Town (曲山镇任家坪村), ☏ +86 816 4893333, 2633842536@qq.com. May-Oct: 09:00-17:30, Nov-Apr: 09:00-17:00, closed on Mondays. Free. (updated May 2018)

Sleep

While of course you cannot sleep among the ruins of Qushan Town, accommodation can be found in the new county seat and other parts of the county.