12:19 pm

First images of the strongly hit Wenchuan are sent back for the first time through satellite. The camera on a helicopter shows piles of devastated houses in remote villages near the Wenchuan county.

Day Four (May 15)

6 pm

Thirty-one Japanese rescuers head for Chengdu.

7:25 pm

China's relief headquarters estimates the final death toll would exceed 50,000.

Day Five (May 16)

10:43 am

President Hu Jintao arrives in Mianyang, one of the worst-hit cities, by plane, as rescuers continue to look for survivors.

Day Six (May 17)

Afternoon

More than 6 billion yuan ($860 million) from home and abroad is collected by the central government for quake relief.

(China Daily May 18, 2008)