Water lantern vigil for quake victims

More than 400 residents in Jilin city gathered in the rain to mourn earthquake victims by floating lanterns on Songhua River on Monday evening.

Residents in northeast China's Jinlin City, Jilin Province float water lanterns to commemorate earthquake victims on Monday, May 19, 2008. [Photo: cnsphoto]

The participants, most of whom were volunteers with the city's Red Cross and members of the Water Lantern Association, rolled up their umbrellas and stood in a heart-shaped circle at around 6:28pm local time. Holding candles, they chanted, "Go Wenchuan! Go Sichuan! Go China!" and proceeded to float the lanterns on the river.

"We all have one wish - to commemorate the dead and pray for the well-being of the survivors," a 17-year-old student told China News Service.

The city's Water Lantern Association used about 1,000 water lanterns for the vigil, according to reports.

A 8.0-magnitude earthquake hit southwest China's Sichuan province on May 12. The official death toll rose to 34,073 as of noon on Monday.