The earthquake that hit the quiet, rural province of Sichuan, China, on 12 May 2008 stands out as one of the most striking natural disasters of recent years. A quake of such high magnitude was unexpected in this mid-continental region, and is one of the deadliest and costliest in the twenty-first century so far. However, the event was recorded in detail and generated large amounts of new data, creating a research bloom that continues today. A web focus published with this issue (http://go.nature.com/TECoT5) explores the marks left by this tragic event, along with the research avenues that have opened up as a result.