A mother mourns for her child who was only 67 days old when?killed in last year’s May 12 earthquake in Beichuan, the hardest-hit area in the disaster, in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, on May 10, 2009. Parents who lost their children came back to Beichuan as the first anniversary of the disaster approaches.

BEICHUAN, Sichuan — The quake-devastated Beichuan county in southwest China’s Sichuan Province reopened Sunday to residents to mourn the dead ahead of the first anniversary of the disaster.

Some 21,000 people, or two-thirds of the county seat’s population, were dead or missing in the 8.0-magnitude earthquake on May 12 last year, making the county the worst hit in the quake.

The county will be open for four days till Wednesday.

Mourners brought flowers, incense and candles and set off firecrackers in the ruins of former bus stations, county government buildings and homes. The police distributed bottled water to the crowd for free.

“I come here today to tell my mom that dad, sister and I will live a better life. I miss her and I will often come to see her,” said Zheng Chengrong, a student who returned from a vocational college in Mianyang City and dedicated flowers to her mother.

Zheng’s younger sister studies at Beichuan Middle School, where more than 1,000 students were dead or missing in the quake. Construction of the new school will begin on May 12.

“I wish my sister can study hard to enter the senior high school. My mom would be very happy then if she knew that,” Zheng said.

Cheng Piyi and Huang Guiqiong, a couple who lost their daughter, brought their 16-month son to Beichuan.

“We wish she could see the flowers,” Cheng said. “When our son grows up, we will tell him that he had a sister who liked him very much.”

The town has been closed since May 20 last year. It reopened to former residents during Qingming, or tomb-sweeping day, in April.

A new county seat will be built 23 km from the former one. The new town is expected to have 58,000 residents in 2010 and 110,000 in 2020.

China?s inflation rate dropped for the third month in a row in April as its consumer price index decreased by 1.5 percent compared from a year earlier after a 1.2 percent decline in March.

According to the National Statistics Bureau (NSB), food prices decreased by 1.3 percent while meat prices fell by 13.5 percent and pork prices dropped by 28.6 percent.

This is a stark contrast from last year?s prices when inflation rate peaked because of the increasing costs of food and energy.

Lower energy costs for the year also led to producer prices falling by 6.6 percent in April compared to 6.0 percent in March.

The NSB report said that overall the cost of fuel and raw materials dropped by 9.6 percent in April. There has also been significant declines in crude oil prices and costs for other commodities. It is anticipated that deflation will continue for a few more months because many industries are reporting inventory excess caused by the global economic downturn.

The government?s stimulus plan is being used to maintain growth through infrastructure development and domestic spending. There are signs from positive figures from the manufacturing, auto sales and real estate industries that the strategy is working.

Economists told The New York Times that these signs of economic recovery suggest a lower risk for a prolonged bout of lower prices that could drag growth lower if consumers put off purchases in expectation of lower prices, forcing companies to cut wages and investment, economists say.

?Deflationary concerns appear to be subsiding as the economy shows signs of recovery,?Jing Ulrich, chairwoman for China equities at J.P.Morgan said in a report to clients.

Ulrich added:?Consumer prices should show an uptrend in the second half of the year. Importantly, expectations of rising prices in the future will encourage consumer spending.?