Just over two hours after Monday's earthquake, Premier Wen Jiabao boarded a flight to devastated Sichuan province. In the days since, he has traveled from one ruined town to another, comforting survivors, rallying rescuers and showing grief for those lost.

Mr. Wen's show of concern, which has received blanket coverage in official media, reflects the enormous stakes for the Communist Party leadership. Despite having a monopoly on power, the party is extremely concerned that the public see it as responding effectively to China's worst natural disaster in more than 30 years.

On the whole, Mr. Wen's tour of the disaster zone, and the state-run media's portrayal of the broader relief effort, appear to have been effective. The tour has solidified his image as a populist hero in the eyes of many Chinese. At least one Chinese blogger has contrasted Mr. Wen's speedy response favorably with that of President Bush after Hurricane Katrina.

Still, there are signs of popular frustration. Some victims struggling to get aid in rescuing loved ones have complained that the government's response is inadequate. Others have suggested that corruption and official incompetence are to blame for the string of school collapses that killed many children. 'Tragic though the circumstances are, we cannot afford not to raise uneasy questions about the structural quality of school buildings,' said an editorial Wednesday in China Daily, the state-run English-language newspaper.

Mr. Wen, 65 years old, has long played the role of friendly grandfather to President Hu Jintao's stern father since the two men took power more than five years ago. Mr. Hu outranks Mr. Wen but has been far less visible in the quake's aftermath. In cultivating his man-of-the-people image, Mr. Wen has in recent years traveled with miners 12 miles into an inner-Mongolian coal mine and urged citizens to use the Internet to suggest changes to government policies. He famously holds his own umbrella and has allowed his hair to gray at the temples, breaking with the thoroughly dyed hairdos of most Chinese leaders.

In Sichuan, at impromptu news conferences and photo opportunities reminiscent of former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S., Mr. Wen has been portrayed as a strong leader in touch with the needs of common people.

The state-media reporters traveling with Mr. Wen have made much of his selflessness. Visiting a collapsed school on Tuesday morning, Mr. Wen fell and cut his arm while atop the rubble trying to organize the rescue of 300 students, according to one newspaper report. Although he was bleeding, he reportedly refused medical help.

Squatting on the rubble in gray New Balance sneakers, Xinhua reported, he told the children buried inside, 'I am Grandpa Wen Jiabao. Children, you have to hold on, and you will be saved!'

The state-run media's coverage this week has been far more extensive than in past disasters. And the government has won tentative praise from journalists and others for its openness to coverage.

But the government has also tak en measures to ensure a flattering portrayal. Access to Mr. Wen's plane and many of his encounters with survivors has been limited to Xinhua and China Central Television. On Wednesday, propaganda officials told Chinese journalists to do more to 'uphold unity and encourage stability' while 'giving precedence to positive propaganda.'

In an editorial published Wednesday in the popular Guangzhou newspaper Southern Metropolis Daily, investigative journalist Qian Gang, who wrote a book on China's big Tangshan earthquake in 1976, called for less show and more action.

'Big words and empty speeches, gaudy, showy and useless old habits, documents that parade their achievements to those on top, posing and dramatizing for the camera lens . . . . At this moment, let this all pass away!' he wrote. 'Science and expertise is what our brothers and sisters in need hope for most.'