Good to see quake-affected people are recovering, she says First-hand details: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits some of the areas damaged in the May 12 earthquake in Dujiangyan, Sichuan Province, on Sunday. CHENGDU: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday arrived in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, and extended condolences to those affected by the May 12 earthquake. Ms. Rice first visited the debris of the Tengda sports club in downtown Dujiangyan. The three-story building, built in 1980s, collapsed during the earthquake. Stepping on the debris, she kept shaking her head. Communist Party chief of Dujiangyan, Liu Junlin, told her more than 3,000 people had died and 90 per cent of the houses had collapsed. Ms. Rice then went to Qinjianrenjia that houses 8,000 people, and asked about the condition of temporary houses. Dujiangyan Mayor Xu Xingguo said the city had built more than 3,500 prefabricated houses, rehabilitating more than 8,000 people and planning to add 4,000 people soon. Ms. Rice commended the efforts of the medical staff. "You have done a good job. You saved a lot of people,' she told Jin Weitie, a doctor. Later, she visited a culture centre in the settlement where she watched the Beijing opera and a show by the children. "It is good to see people are recovering and going on with their lives and children are studying and performing,' she said. She presented a book on U.S. national parks to 14-year-old Zhou Yifan after they chatted together in English. "I am tremendously impressed with the spirits of the people we met in the relocation area,' said Ms. Rice before her departure from Chengdu. She said it was not the U.S. government, but the U.S people that responded with sympathy and kindness. "We talk about U.S.-China relations, we talk at the government level, but it is really the relations between the American people and the Chinese people that really make the difference,' she said. "With a disaster of this magnitude, no one can do it alone and we are glad that the Chinese government and the Chinese people reached out to the international community and allowed the international community to help,' Ms. Rice added. Ms. Rice was the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the area. During her four-hour stay in the province, she also toured temporary homes for survivors and saw a water purifier donated by Samaritan's Purse, a U.S. NGO committed to international relief. One water purifier was installed in Yonggu village in Yutang town. The U.S. has offered cash and materials worth $2.6 million for quake relief, according to China's Foreign Ministry. Ms. Rice's Sichuan visit is part of her two-day China tour. She is scheduled to discuss with Chinese leaders in Beijing a wide range of issues, including the Korean nuclear issue.