Soon after the disaster, the government rapidly allocated reconstruction funds of 300 billion yuan ($45.9 billion) and established a paired assistance program requiring that 19 provinces or municipalities, including Beijing, Shandong and Guangdong, provide at least 1 percent of their annual fiscal revenue to the 24 counties severely hit by the Wenchuan Earthquake for three years. By March 2011, the total aid from the donor provinces or municipalities exceeded 72 billion yuan ($11 billion).

Financial support also comes from different levels of government, social donations, assistance from Hong Kong and Macao, and bank loans. By the beginning of this year, the total investment in completed projects surpassed 700 billion yuan ($107 billion).

In addition to financial aid, working groups throughout the country, including design and planning experts, arrived at those areas, ready to help within one week after the paired assistance program was announced. This expertise brought advanced concepts of development and management to the affected areas.

"Such a large-scale reconstruction project would never have been completed without the 30 years of experience collected after the initiation of reform and opening and the all-out help from the entire nation," said Qin.