Full coverage: China’s Leaders

Thursday is the 40th anniversary of the catastrophic Tangshan earthquake in north China's Hebei Province. Memorials have been held for the over 240,000 victims in the disaster.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (2nd L), who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), visits an exhibition on the city's recovery and development over the past four decades at Tangshan Planning Exhibition Hall in Tangshan, north China's Hebei Province, July 28, 2016. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

President Xi Jinping visited the Earthquake Ruins Memorial Park in Tangshan to pay his respects to those who died in the devastating earthquake.

During the inspection tour in Tangshan, President Xi said China should strengthen its capacity to prevent and alleviate disasters and provide relief.

He stressed the importance of the relationship between disaster prevention and management and economic development.

The magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck the industrial city in the early morning of July 28th, 1976. Most people were asleep and had no chance to escape.

Experts say its force was equal to that of 400 atomic bombs. The final death toll was more than 242,000, with 160,000 others seriously injured. 650,000 homes were destroyed in the quake and not a single building remained intact.