The Tangshan earthquake forever changed the lives of those who survived. Our reporter Ning Hong has visited some of these survivors,  and brings us their stories of the past 40 years.

Li Dongmei was only 13 when she was crippled by the earthquake. She dreamed to be an athlete -- and that very dream did not die even after she found herself living in a wheelchair.

"I wrote myself a line of words, it says: since the land remade me, I will still stand in this world as another me. It has been encouraging me to fight ever since," Li said.

She has won 51 medals in athletic competitions representing China. After retiring, she now lives in a recovery village where people share similar experiences. Their motto -- "to be useful."

Many lost their entire families on the night the earthquake hit. Tens of thousands of orphans were dug out of the rubble by hand. Tian Jinfang is one of them.

"When I was pulled out, my head was covered in blood. Then this young soldier put his hat over my head and said, don’t get cold, I have to save others,"  Tian said.

She has spent 39 years trying to find the soldier that saved her life, and during this search she has donated most of her income. In 2015, she finally found the soldier in Jiangsu Province. Zhou Guangjun, who is now over 60, is a hero and had saved 11 people in Tangshan. Tian finally had the chance to return the hat.

The earthquake that occurred on July 28, 1976 brought unimaginable pain, suffering and physical damage to the people of Tangshan. But it's often in times of great adversity and sorrow that the best is brought out of people. Strangers become family -- indeed the entire country lent a helping hand, which the people of Tangshan have never forgotten. The city was reborn from ruins and ashes.

81 year old Chang Qing, using his camera, has recorded the changes of Tangshang over the last 40 years.

"This one was taken five days after the quake, you could see the whole city was ruined,"  Chang said.

For him, every bit of change in Tangshan is worth recording. Tangshan held the International Garden Expo in 2016. It has become his new favorite spot.

"Tangshan is now a beautiful city. I am very proud of the change here in the past forty years," Chang said.

The reborn city has not only increased the standard of earthquake prevention in all buildings, but has also become a major industrial base and international harbor in North China. It is more thriving than ever.