By Bernama,
Xi’an : The first group of 181 children from China’s quake-hit provinces of Sichuan and Shaanxi will fly to Russia on Thursday for a three-week recuperative vacation, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.
The northwestern Shaanxi Province selected 90 injured or orphaned children from 30 primary schools or secondary schools in the worst-hit Ningqiang and Lueyang counties.
The students, ranging in age from 10 to 16, are learning basic Russian language at the Northwest University, in the provincial capital of Xi’an.
Accompanied by four teachers, a doctor and two interpreters, the students will arrive in Novosibirskaya Oblast on Thursday where they will be taken to a summer camp.
Another 91 students from the southwestern Sichuan Province are scheduled to arrive in Vladivostok on Thursday. Nine teachers and psychologists from the West China Hospital will accompany them.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said on Tuesday that 1,000 children from quake-stricken provinces will go to Russia from July 17 to Aug. 5 for recuperation, to be followed by another 570 next year.
The May 12 magnitude 8.0 quake left almost 70,000 people dead.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev invited children from the affected areas to Russia for rehabilitation during a visit to Beijing in June.
“The invitation expresses the Russian people’s deep affection for the Chinese people,” Liu said, adding “I believe this move will further the two people’s understanding and friendship.”