"Beichuan has just disappeared. There's nothing left," said Li Changqing, a salesman in Mianyang.
Ambulances streamed down the road from Beichuan, which was closed to incoming cars so survivors and the injured could get to hospitals and shelter.
The quake, the worst to hit China since 1976 when up to 300,000 died, has muffled upbeat government propaganda three months ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games.
It has also overshadowed criticism from abroad over recent unrest in Tibet, with images of the human tragedy and heroic rescue efforts spurring offers of aid and an outpouring of sympathy.
China's stock market initially weakened after the quake, partly on fears it could add to inflation that is already at a 12-year high, but the Shanghai index ended 2.7 percent higher on Wednesday as fears of the long-term impact ebbed.
Industrial production growth released on Wednesday showed China's busy factories moving down a gear, and economists said output growth could fade further in coming months, partly due to the impact of the Sichuan quake.
FOOD AND SHELTER
At the Mianyang sports ground, local volunteers were distributing rice and water. One man handing out boiled eggs was mobbed, but desperate survivors were mostly orderly.
Central authorities have ordered stricken areas to ensure food supplies and price stability, but some Chinese news reports described price rises and shortages in quake-hit areas.
The extent of destruction in many towns across the mountainous area suggested searchers would find many more bodies than survivors among the toppled buildings.
Rain has frustrated rescuers' efforts to get to some areas and more rain is forecast for coming days.
"Everything became very difficult last night with the rain. There are a lot of people with no place to go," said Kate Janis, a programme director with the aid organisation Mercy Corps.
State media reported devastation in villages near the epicentre in Wenchuan, a remote county cut off by landslides about 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Chengdu. About 60,000 people were unaccounted for across Wenchuan, authorities said.
In Wenchuan's Yingxiu town, only 2,300 of its 10,000 residents were accounted for, Xinhua reported.
Amid the overwhelming grief, there were also moments of relief. In Sichuan's Mianzhu, about 500 people were pulled out alive from crushed buildings.
And a group of 31 British tourists visiting a panda reserve in the stricken area were safe, China's Foreign Ministry said.
