Beichuan

The Preserved Ruins Of An Earthquake Destroyed Town

Beichuan is a town located north of the provincial capital of Chengdu, in China, in a valley well-known for the Longmen or Dragon Gate seismic fault. In May 12, 2008, the town was ravaged to the ground by a devastating earthquake that rocked the region and reduced large swathes of Sichuan province to a hellish jumble of concrete and limbs.
After the earthquake shattered the town, the government was faced with the insurmountable task of cleaning up the place and providing shelter to those displaced. With more than 80% of the buildings in Beichaun leveled to the ground, this was proving to be a logistical challenge. It was decided that Beichuan would never be rebuilt, or even excavated, but would remain in its current state as a memorial.