Twenty-nine-year-old Pasang Drolma washes the dirt off the wooden comb she is using to brush her mother's pigtails. In the dappled light and shadows of the relief tents her eyes look weary but focused and calm.

Pasang Drolma comes from the earthquake-hit town Zham, in Nyalam County. At present, more than 3,000 people have been safely evacuated, including those who were previously trapped in Zham Township, and placed in three settlements on the outskirts of Shigatse, Nyalam County, and Lhatse County.

At the settlement on the outskirts of Shigatse City, adequate material supplies, medical equipment, communications, electricity, clean water, and other essential items are guaranteed for more than 700 people now living there. These people will live in "temporary tent homes" throughout the reconstruction of their villages and towns.

In the afternoon, surrounded by yellow earth, blue sky, and white clouds, in the large open space that is the Shigatse Industrial Park, rows of dark green tents and the earthquake-affected people who live in them stand shoulder to shoulder with the workers to build their "temporary new homes".

Taking advantage of the sun on the tents, many people begin to dry their washed clothes; naughty children frolic and chase each other; an elderly man brews butter tea; a young boy runs around teasing and laughing with a girl; a fashionable young woman rises out of a tent, not forgetting to shake the dust from her body, and raises a mirror to check her appearance.

In front of the tent, turning on a tap produces clean drinking water from newly installed pipes. All around the relief supplies are arriving – white-capped volunteers shuttle in milk, instant noodles, fruits, and other goods. These volunteers also work hard, with their sleeves rolled up, cleaning up garbage in front of the mobile medical vehicle of the Shigatse City People's Hospital, where many people are lined up to collect their daily medications.

When the earthquake struck, 36-year-old Tsering Yangzom happened to be out of her home, and escaped unharmed from the destruction. Now, with her head wrapped in a towel, she cares for her three children in the resettled area, taking them to receive milk and cookies and cold medicine from the mobile medical vehicle.

"After the earthquake, everything in my home was buried, but seeing that this new settlement has everything we need sets my mind at ease," she said.

In each settlement area, civilian police are responsible for checking in and registering the new residents. Two cadres from Bang and Gang Village ran in the snow to arrange for shelter for the victims of their respective villages and the distribution of supplies between them.

Phurjung Tsering's family came to the Lhatse County settlement carrying small bags. Their 7-year-old daughter Dekyi Chodron walked with a light step, carrying her pink Mickey Mouse schoolbag, her ponytail jumping up and down. With help from the village cadres' reception team, they were soon reunited with their relatives.

"I miss my friends; I want to go back to school!" Dekyi Chodron opened her bag to show a crumpled book of fairy tales. She quietly smoothed the corners of the book with her hands, and spoke no more.

As the earthquake-hit areas have been gradually returning to normal, Tibet Earthquake Relief Headquarters issued an announcement lifting traffic restrictions on some sections of the National Highway 318, and the Railway Department has also lifted their restrictions on passengers travelling into Shigatse City by rail.