Quake survivors at 315 Happiness Road

Everyone working together
Zhang Xiaoyan is perhaps the most famous resident of 315 Happiness Road. Eight months pregnant, she was lying on a couch in her living room with her mother when the magnitude-7.9 quake collapsed the apartment's walls and trapped them in a space less than two feet high filled with rubble and broken furnishings.

While China and much of the world watched rapt on television Wednesday, Zhang was pulled from the rubble 50 hours later. Firefighters had to work painstakingly slowly for fear of bringing down other slabs of concrete on them.

Because Zhang was still trapped on the second floor, a bulldozer had to raise its scoop 18 feet so rescuers could lay her in it. As they did, one of the workers raised a thumbs-up to the crowd of now-homeless neighbors, who cheered and clapped.

"It is very moving. It's a miracle brought about by us all working together," said Sun Guoli, the fire chief of nearby Chengdu.

Cheers for two survivors
Zhang's mother was pulled out shortly afterward. Both looked shaken but were not seriously injured. They had been given water during the ordeal and rescuers were able to talk to them.

As the ambulance sped off through clogged traffic, rescuers threw their arms in the air and cheered.

"They're doing fine, both her and the child," Tang said of Zhang, who was hospitalized in Chengdu. "It was such a wonderful thing that they were rescued."

Now Tang, Luo and the other displaced residents wait for promised state housing assistance.

They sweep, dust, fluff and fold to try to keep their tent area clean — even as old plastic bottles, instant noodle boxes and empty cigarette packs pile up around them. Just inches in front of them, traffic meanders through town, with cars, motorcycles and trucks all honking and the occasional ambulance wailing its siren.

Video   2 found alive May 15: A 67-year-old man and a young girl were rescued from rubble days after the deadly earthquake. NBC's Mark Mullen reports. MSNBC

Tang expressed faith the communist government would care for the many thousands of homeless survivors.

"This is temporary. After the government helps the people in the mountains, they will help us find a solution to our problems," she said.

The apartment building at 315 Happiness Road still stands, although it seems ready to fall at any moment. Jagged, dangerous looking shards of concrete dangled above the sidewalk, which was cordoned off with yellow police tape.

Crews continued delicate rescue work there Thursday, but at a much slower and less- intensive pace. Another four people were said to be inside, possibly alive. One man worked from a cherry picker to cut steel reinforcing bars and release hanging debris.

"Life is so frail," Luo said. Her belongings were still inside her fifth-floor apartment but too dangerous to retrieve.

"We were all so excited about the Beijing Olympic Games" in August, she said, "but now we only feel sadness."

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