Beijing

Chinese abacus makes UNESCO list

The Chinese abacus has been added to the Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The list is to ensure better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide, Xinhua News Agency reported. Experts said the addition will help more people feel proud of the Chinese abacus and enhance protection of the ancient technique.

Maternity leave affects job hunting

More than 40 percent of survey respondents think maternity leave is the top reason why employers are reluctant to hire women, according to results published on Thursday. More than 35 percent of respondents said women are also discriminated against mainly because there is the belief that they are unsuitable for hard work, social engagements and business trips, according to the survey by People's Daily.

Ancient 'dictionary' fetches $4.9m

A set of books, dubbed the "dictionary" of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), was sold for 29.9 million yuan ($4.9 million) at an auction on Wednesday. The books have 9,590 Chinese characters and were expected to sell for 8-10 million yuan, but the deal closed at 26 million yuan plus commission.

Online outdoor clothing fails test

The Beijing Consumer Association found serious quality problems with the majority of outdoor clothing sold online. The association said on Thursday that 55 percent of selected items of clothing did not meet national standards, especially outdoor clothing made of quick-drying material.

Railway website to have new function

A trial run of the latest version of the China Railway Customer Service Center's website, which provides online ticket booking, will begin on Friday. China Railway Corp said the website, 12306.cn, will offer more functions, such as auto refresh. Both the old and new versions of the site will be online during the trial run. Users can find the link to the new version at the 12306.cn home page.

Shanghai

Many use mobile phones at the wheel

Nearly 80 percent of drivers in a Shanghai survey admitted they use their mobile phones while waiting at traffic lights. The online survey, conducted by Shanghai Morning Post and news portal sh.qq.com, had about 10,000 participants. If a driver looks at his or her mobile phone while the vehicle is moving, the vehicle will swerve or change direction, said Zhu Wei, a trainer at a drivers' school under the Shanghai traffic police department.

City grants highest salaries to graduates

Shanghai topped a newly released list of college graduate earnings, with an average monthly salary of 3,869 yuan ($635), according to MyCOS Data, a higher education consulting and outcome evaluation company. China's top-earning cities are Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing, with the lowest being Zhengzhou, capital city of Henan province.

Shaanxi

Two workers die in mountain accidents

Two workers were killed and five others injured in two incidents where part of a mountain collapsed in Tongchuan on Wednesday, China News Service reported. The first accident happened at about 5 pm when workers from a coal chemical company were digging at the mountain. Three workers were buried and several others injured.

Fujian

Canteen worker practices English

Zhao Yang, 48, who works at a canteen at Fujian University of Technology, practices spoken English early every morning with students. Zhao, a Liaoning native, came to Fujian to be with her daughter, who is studying at another university in the province. Zhao said she previously learned some simple English at a vocational school and likes the language.

Guangdong

Drone express delivery tested

China S.F. Express, a delivery company based in Shenzhen, has tested unmanned aerial vehicles, also known as drones, for express deliveries. An employee with the company told Beijing News that the UAV delivery service reduces manpower and increases efficiency. China has not published regulations on using private UAVs in low-altitude airspace, but the company will communicate with the relative departments before they use the UAV service.

Bank guards end strike

More than 500 bank guards in Zhongshan returned to work on Thursday after their employers agreed to increase their monthly salaries by 510 yuan ($83.70) a month. The employers also agreed to pay the guards for overtime. The guards went on strike on Tuesday after their employers rejected their pay rise request.

Jiangxi

Wild birds sold to restaurants

Many birds have been caught in fowling nets and sold to restaurants near Nanchang Zoo. Local residents said that December to March is the best time for bird hunting in Nanchang, and dead birds can frequently be seen hanging in the nets near the zoo. Hunting for wild birds is illegal. A wild goose sells for 128 yuan ($21).

Man allegedly sells stolen mastiff

A man named Yan from Xiushui county allegedly sold a stolen Tibetan mastiff worth 400,000 yuan ($65,700) for 1,000 yuan because he could not afford to feed the dog,

Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday. Yan, 34, stole the 1-meter-long, 0.6-meter-tall dog from a kennel in March, but sold it to another kennel on Nov 25 because of the animal's voracious appetite, the report said.

Jiangsu

Vehicles auctioned in austerity move

A district government in Zhenjiang has started selling official vehicles in line with a national drive for austerity in government departments, with 169 cars sold at auction on Sunday. The government of Runzhou district auctioned the cars for 11.9 million yuan ($1.95 million). The auction was open to the public, including the officials who previously used the cars - with many of them buying the vehicles.

Hospital apologizes for wrong medication

Suzhou Municipal Hospital has apologized to a pregnant woman in the city after a doctor admitted giving her the wrong medication. Medical experts will discuss the woman's condition and a treatment plan will be made for her, the Suzhou publicity department said on Wednesday.

Guangxi

11 sentenced for attacking officials

A court in Dongxing sentenced 11 people on Thursday for beating police and customs officials and damaging 10 police cars in December 2012, chinanews.com reported on Thursday. On Dec 7, 2012, a patrol car carrying several customs officials collided with a motorcycle. After police arrived, the 11 defendants attacked the customs officials and the police, and smashed and burned police cars. They received sentences of up to four years and eight months in prison.

Gansu

Matchbook-sized classics found

A set of tiny classic books, which experts said may have been used by students to cheat in exams more than 100 years ago, were found in Dingxi, China.com reported on Thursday. The matchbox-sized version of The Four Books, a collection of four ancient classics, The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Confucian Analects and The Works of Mencius, was published during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Chongqing

Doctor gets 11 years' prison for kickbacks

A court in Chongqing sentenced a doctor to 11 years in prison for accepting bribes of more than 1 million yuan ($164,000), China News Service reported on Thursday. Liang Fa, director of a medical department at a local hospital, took bribes from medical sales representatives from 2003 to 2013.

China Daily - Xinhua

Life underground Garbage collector Jin Youzhi, 66, from Henan province, sits inside an underground utility compartment outside Lidu Park in Beijing's Chaoyang district. Four people have been living in some of the compartments there for at least two years, Wei Zhonghua, a security guard, said. "They usually come to the park to use the restroom at around 8 am, and return quite late in the evening. Sometimes they charge their flashlights in the security guard's room," he said. Photo by Cheng Liang / for China Daily

 

(China Daily USA 12/06/2013 page2)