This Day, That Year: Nov 13

Editor's note: This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China.

On Nov 13, 1990, Tangshan, Hebei province, was awarded a United Nations Habitat Scroll of Honor and the municipal government was chosen by the UN as an "outstanding organization contributing to human residence" for its reconstruction efforts after the Tangshan earthquake of 1976.

The quake demolished 97 percent of the city's buildings and killed more than 242,000 people when it occurred on July 28, 1976. The rebuilding of Tangshan was basically complete in 1986, as seen in this item from China Daily, and the city started to witness rapid economic growth.

Tangshan has been growing out of the ruins and was the first city in the country to receive the 1990 UN award.

The Habitat Scroll of Honor is the UN's highest award for outstanding contributions by individuals, organizations or projects that help to improve the urban environment.

Established in 1989, the award targets governments, organizations, people and programs that make outstanding contributions to human living conditions.

Since Tangshan's win, other Chinese cities have claimed the award.

Tangshan also gained the Dubai International Award for Best Practices to Improve the Living Environment in 2004.

In 2016, on the 40th anniversary of the earthquake, Tangshan hosted the World Horticultural Expo, under the theme of "City and Nature, Phoenix Nirvana" - a reference to the city's rise from the rubble.

The major venue was transformed from an area of waste ground that was formerly a coal mine.

Now home to a population of approximately 8 million, Tangshan's GDP hit about 700 billion yuan ($100 billion) last year, a year-on-year increase of 7.3 percent, ranking first among cities in Hebei province and 27th in the country.