Mount Wutai held a prayer ceremony in its Zhulin Temple on July 28 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Tangshan Earthquake, sxjjb.cn reports.

The vice-director of China's Buddhist Association Master Miao Jiang hosted the ceremony where a group of monks and visitors chanted sutras in memory of those who lost their lives in the devastating natural disaster.

They also extended sincere gratitude to all the assistance provided to the people of Tangshan in the aftermath and the long recovery period that followed. The group also prayed for peace and prevention from disasters.

In the early hours of July 28, 1976, one of the deadliest earthquakes of the 20th century toppled Tangshan, a prefecture-level city in northeastern Hebei province, killing more than 240,000 people and injuring another 160,000. The initial earthquake leveled Tangshan in just 23 seconds, destroying 96 percent of the city's architecture.

Over the past 40 years Tangshan has rebuilt itself and moved on from the grief and devastation of the disaster, but the city as well as the rest of China will never forget the terrible events of July 28, 1976.

Mount Wutai holds a prayer ceremony in its Zhulin Temple on July 28 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Tangshan Earthquake. [Photo/ sxjjb.cn]