The earthquake relief and rebuilding experience of Tangshan is helpful to Taiwan, said Lee Chinghua, head of a Taiwan earthquake relief and rebuilding inspection delegation visiting the mainland.

An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale devastated Tangshan in 1976, leaving 240,000 people dead and 160,000 injured. More than 90 percent of buildings collapsed.

Twenty years later, a newer and more beautiful Tangshan has emerged. Lee Chinghua said that delegation members were surprised to find a modern city rebuilt from ruins.

The delegation visited representatives of some 4,000 orphans that survived the Tangshan earthquake. The September 21 earthquake in Taiwan left more than 1,000 children homeless.

The delegation was invited by the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits.