How tragedy and resilience unfolded as midnight struck

"The collapsed house can be rebuilt later. Faced with such a natural disaster it's fortunate that there were no casualties among my family members," he said.

Ma's grandchildren are currently sheltering with him and his wife in a disaster-relief tent provided by local authorities. He estimates it will cost 500,000 yuan to rebuild his home, which will have to wait until spring when it is warmer. Construction activities are currently hindered by the low temperatures.

The earthquake's epicenter was in Jishishan county. Cities in Gansu, including Lanzhou, Qingyang and Pingliang, experienced noticeable tremors. As of 8 am on Tuesday, the China Earthquake Networks Center had recorded 32 aftershocks, with the highest intensity being a 4.1 magnitude quake.

In Jishishan, school walls collapsed and buildings were damaged, but all students were safely relocated and appeared to be suffering no emotional trauma, according to local authorities.

Zhang Shunshan, vice-principal of Gajichunlei Primary School in Liugou township, Jishishan, said after the earthquake that 79 boarding students had followed practice drills and were quickly evacuated safely to the playground. Temperatures were below — 10 C and teachers used charcoal to light fires and provided quilts to keep the students warm.

Zhang said after ensuring the safety of students, teachers promptly notified parents and guardians to pick them up. All 79 students were safely collected by 10 am Tuesday.

Immediately following the disaster, over 4,500 personnel and more than 820 vehicles from the PLA Western Theater Command, the Gansu Provincial Military Command, People's Armed Police Force Gansu Corps, Gansu provincial fire rescue corps, as well as provincial and nongovernmental emergency rescue teams were mobilized to the disaster area.

Liu Xuefeng, deputy commander of Gansu Provincial Forest Fire Brigade, said that they arrived at Jishishan around 2 am on Tuesday and quickly initiated rescue operations.