Chilly weather to come next week

A dramatic temperature drop is expected across most parts of China over the next nine days, the nation's Meteorological Administration said on Thursday. The cold air will also bring rain and gales. On Thursday and Friday, a cold front and strong winds will see temperatures fall in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, northwestern China, and Guizhou province by up to 10 degrees.

Bangladeshi artists show their works

GoZone Art Museum, in the Songzhuang Art Zone, is presenting 40 works of six young Bangladeshi artists, who visited China from Oct 30 to Nov 15. The six artists visited Kunming in Yunnan province and Beijing during their visit.

Tianjin

Unemployed teens to receive subsidy

Unemployed residents aged 16 and 18 in urban Tianjin will be able to receive a subsidy next year. The municipal government has approved a regulation to lower the threshold age of the subsidy for urban and rural residents. The regulation will take effect in 2013.

Chongqing

Pop song drives workers crazy

Staff members of a supermarket in Chongqing complained that the repeated playing of the popular song Gangnam Style was driving them crazy. A saleswoman surnamed Lin complained that she couldn't stand the tune blasted repeatedly in the supermarket where she worked. Psychologists said that even the most melodic song could damage people's psyche if listened to consistently.

Zhejiang

Ethical guidelines set for teachers

Zhejiang educational department on Wednesday published guidelines on the professional ethics expected of teachers. The province stipulated that an assessment system of individual teacher's professional ethics will be implemented, and the results will influence a teacher's career prospects.

Hunan

Sweet success for potato farmer

A farmer in Yueyang, Hunan province, sold 2 tons of potatoes - his entire crop - within a single day after turning to local media for help. The farmer, a 74-year-old man surnamed Gan, and his wife had a good harvest of sweet potatoes this year, but selling the crop was difficult before local media drew attention to his plight, the Hunan-based Sanxiang City Express reported.

Hubei

Insects on road cause accident

A road made slick by a thick layer of dead insects led to a traffic accident on Wednesday in Wuhan, Hubei province, Wuhan Evening News reported. A truck plunged into a river after its brakes failed on a road near Donghu Lake. Police blamed midges for the slippery surface. Sanitation workers said the road is always covered by midges this time of year. Midges are a non-biting Chironomidae mosquito, that breed in the early winter.

Guangdong

Student dies when training for sports

A female freshman student in Guangdong province passed out while training for the school sports meet on Tuesday morning, and died three hours later, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported. The student, an 18-year-old freshman at Guangzhou Huali Science and Technology Vocational College, fell to the ground after running three laps of the college oval and died in a hospital three hours later.

Couple to buy school uniforms

An engaged couple in Guangdong province wants to use the cash wedding gifts they receive online to buy school uniforms for students in an impoverished mountain area. Chen Hua-xin and Wu Wenyuan were both volunteer teachers in a mountain village in Dafa county of Guizhou province when they fell in love. They decided to use the cash gifts to help the children.

Fujian

International cycling tour begins

The 2012 Tour of Fuzhou will kick off on Monday with more than 200 riders. The three-day tour will take in some of the tourist landmarks of Fuzhou, Fujian province, which includes the famous mountain resorts of Guling and Yunding. The race, which is the province's first international cycling event, will cover a distance of about 300 kilometers.

Shaanxi

Construction accident claims 8

A collapse at a construction site in Shenmu county, Shaanxi province, killed eight people and injured 20 on Thursday morning. Official sources said the accident occurred at about 8 am and buried 28 workers at the construction site. All the trapped workers were rescued from the wreckage by firefighters and police by around 10 am.

Jilin

Hospitals criticized for illegal practices

The Ministry of Health on Tuesday published a national circular criticizing two hospitals in Jilin province for illegal medical practices related to stem cells. The practices included illegal advertising, employment of unregistered medical workers, disorderly management and using illegitimate names of medical institutions.

China Daily - Xinhua