China is marking a day of mourning for the victims of last week's earthquake. More than 2,000 people are known to have died in Qinghai province last Wednesday.

The Chinese flag is flying at half-mast across the country, and it was lowered in the provincial capital Xining where, as it snowed, thousands of mourners dressed in black, stood silently for three minutes. Sounds from car horns and alarms are throughout the city.

It's a week since the earthquake hit. Public entertainment, including some television channels, have been suspended nationwide. Cinemas, karaoke bars and internet cafes are closed. The 24 hour ban extends online. Music and film websites have been suspended. The biggest websites and newspaper mastheads have turned black or grey for the day.

Near the quake's epicentre, at the town of Gyegu, the relief effort continues, with Buddhist monks working alongside army and other rescue workers.

The Tibetan plateau has in the past been the place of ethnic conflict. However, China's state media has shown the response to the earthquake as proof of underlying ethnic harmony.

The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, had asked to return to Qinghai to comfort the victims. Loved by China's Tibetans, he's hated by the Chinese government, which thinks him as a separatist, and has ignored his request.

Adapted from the article “Day of remembrance in China” by Quentin Sommerville,

Word	Part of Speech	Meaning
half-mast	n.	(of a flag) raised only half-way up a flag-pole (rather than being at the very top of the pole as usual) as a mark of respect (半旗的)
mourners	n.	people who are very sad because people they know have died (哀悼者)
hit	v.	happened (襲擊)
suspend	v.	to officially stop something for a time (暫停)
masthead	n.	top section on the front page of a newspaper, where the name of the newspaper is printed (報頭)
epicentre	n.	point on the Earth’s surface directly above where an earthquake happens (震央)
relief	n.	food, money, medicine, etc. that is given to help people in places where there has been a war or natural disaster (救濟)
plateau	n.	large flat area of land that is high above sea level (高原)
comfort	v.	to make somebody who is worried or unhappy feel better by being kind and sympathetic towards them (安慰)
separatist	n.	a member of a group of people within a country who want to separate from the rest of the country and from their own government (分離主義者)