Orphans with tags indicating their need for special care at a refugee centre in Sichuan province.

Thousands rush to adopt children orphaned by the devastating earthquake

As the first estimate of orphans - more than 4,000 -  emerged from last week's deadly earthquake, thousands of Chinese are rushing to offer their homes to these children.

The high interest is another sign of China's tremendous post-quake outpouring of sympathy, buoyed by rising prosperity. And it is a surprising turnaround in a country in which government red-tape, poverty and traditional attitudes combined to discourage adoption.

The new enthusiasm also means that foreigners wanting to adopt may not have a chance. Officials estimate that the number of Chinese wanting to adopt the earthquake orphans may outnumber the children themselves.

"Every day, my ministry receives hundreds of calls," China's Vice Minister of Civil Affairs Jiang Li said. At the Civil Affairs department in Sichuan province, calls reached 2,000 a day, the state-run Xinhua News Agency said.

"We have received many inquiries about adoptions, but at present it is simply too early since we are still in the rescue and recovery stage," Wang Jun of the Chinese Foundation for Poverty Alleviation said. The foundation is a government-backed group put in charge of orphan issues in Deyang, just outside the earthquake zone.

Some Chinese said they wanted to adopt because they were unable to have a child of their own. Some see a chance to have a rare second child despite China's strict one-child policy.

Officials, meanwhile, are trying to reunite orphaned children with other relatives.

The Civil Affairs Ministry  said adoption arrangements would be made after the disaster area had been brought under control.