Tibet

Region sees 11.4% hike in number of tourists

The number of tourists traveling to the Tibet autonomous region increased by 11.4 percent year-on-year in the first three months of 2014, local authorities said on Sunday. Some 486,600 tourists visited the region from Jan 1 to the end of March. The tourists brought Tibet 503 million yuan ($81 million) in tourism income, up 12.53 percent year-on-year.

Guangxi

'Supermarket' offers help to those in need

A community-based volunteer service network, lovingly referred to by locals as "Lei Feng Supermarket", has operated in Liuzhou for two years, China Youth Daily reported. The brick and mortar shop, which offers voluntary services on a daily basis, connects volunteers with those needing help. Instead of goods, notices are posted on its walls offering volunteer services for customers to check out.

Hebei

Forest fire under control; no casualties reported

Forest fires that broke out on Sunday morning in Baoding are almost under control and there are no casualties yet, an official from the city government said on Monday afternoon. Over 1,500 people are working to tackle the fires in Fuping county. The fires broke out at 10:48 am on Sunday and the county government set up rescue headquarters and sent professional fire crews with local residents to the sites.

Sichuan

Waitress trapped in elevator rescued

A waitress who worked at a restaurant in Chengdu was rescued from a freight elevator after being trapped inside for three-and-a half-hours, Chengdu Economic Daily reported. A group of seven friends had just finished watching a film in a theater on the fourth floor of the building late on Saturday and saw a slip of paper with a plea for assistance moving up and down in the crevice of the freight elevator's doors: "Please help. I am trapped in the elevator."

Guangdong

Pest numbers up, posing human risk

A recent germ-monitoring effort carried out by the Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention found a dramatic increase in the population of rats, along with increased numbers of mosquitoes, flies and other insects in the city, posing greater risks of human epidemics. Chikungunya fever and West Nile virus are transmitted by mosquitoes, while thrombocytopenia syndrome and bunyavirus are transmitted by ticks, medical experts warn.

Anhui

Couple hide in car to avoid entrance fees

Officials at Jiuhua Mountain found a couple hidden in the trunk of a car on Saturday, Anhui Business Daily reported on Monday. The couple hid themselves in the car of a person surnamed Cheng to avoid paying the attraction's entrance tickets, which cost 190 yuan ($31) each, the report said.

Hubei

Woman saved after leap from bridge

A 35-year-old woman was rescued after she jumped off a bridge into the Yangzte River in Wuhan, the Wuhan Morning Post reported on Monday. The woman was waiting on the bridge on Saturday for her husband, who was working in Dongguan, Guangdong province, and had an argument with a woman on her cellphone, a firefighter at the scene said. The woman is in intensive care at a hospital.

22 family members share a roof, expenses

Although nuclear families have become the social norm in China, an extended family in Wuhan has shared the same roof for more than seven decades, cnhubei.com reported. The family, surnamed Gan, comprises five brothers, their wives and children, plus two uncles of the brothers who both have physical disabilities. Led by the eldest brother, the family has 22 members and lives in a three-story building.

Jiangsu

Gas explosion kills one in Nanjing

An apparent gas explosion in a Nanjing apartment building on Sunday morning killed one man, Yangtze Evening Post reported. The man, who lived on the fifth floor, was blown down the stairs by the blast. He was seriously injured and taken to a hospital for treatment, but he died at about 9 pm on Sunday. The cause of the blast is still under investigation.

Old man shows homemade 'license'

A man said to be over 70 years old had been riding an illegal electric tricycle on the street in Yangzhou when police stopped and questioned him. The old man then showed a hand-drawn "license", Jinling Evening News reported on Monday. The man told the police that he paid 5,000 yuan ($805) for the tricycle, but the seller didn't tell him it couldn't be ridden legally on the street. He said he had a license and produced the homemade document, the newspaper reported.

Fujian

Man dies after swallowing duck bone

A 37-year-old man in Fuzhou died after swallowing a piece of duck bone, local online news portal Taihainet.com reported on Sunday. The victim, surnamed Chen, went to the hospital after the bone got lodged in his throat, but he refused treatment and hospitalization, the website reported.Five days later, Chen returned to the hospital with chest pains. Doctors found that his esophagus and the artery next to it had been damaged. The man died of severe infection despite treatment.

Chongqing

Patient asks police to get his cellphone

A hospitalized 30-year-old man called police to report a stolen cellphone but later admitted to officers that the phone was in his apartment and he wanted them to get it for him, Chongqing Evening News reported on Monday. The man was on an intravenous drip in a hospital on April 2 when he called police with another patient's phone and said his cellphone had probably been stolen. When officers showed up to talk to the man, he admitted that he knew his phone was in his apartment.

Zhejiang

Five drown in car creek plunge

Five men in Leqing drowned after their car drove into a creek and overturned on Sunday morning, Qianjiang Evening News reported on Monday. Local villagers said that at about 3 am on Sunday, they were awoken by the sound of a car braking and something splashing into the water. After seeing the overturned car, they called the police.

Businessman seeks to repay lifesaving gift

A man in Wenzhou is looking for a woman who gave him 50 yuan ($8) about 10 years ago, which he said changed his life, Modern Express reported. Liu Guangsheng, 39, now runs a home decorating company that has about 1,000 employees. He said the woman, Su Jia, gave him 50 yuan when he was penniless at a bus terminal in Fuzhou, Fujian province. He used the money to pay for a long-distance call and a ticket to Wenzhou, where he found a job and started a new career.

Son accused of theft at father's urging

A 20-year-old college student was arrested for stealing cable to help his poor family at the urging of his father, Chongqing Evening News reported on Monday. The father, surnamed Xiong, who worked at a golf course, allegedly asked his son to steal copper wire from a nearby construction site to pay his high tuition fees. The younger man knew it was a criminal act, but he still obeyed his father, the authorities said.

Shaanxi

Flowers for love signify death instead

A man surnamed Liu sent chrysanthemums to his wife to celebrate their 24th wedding anniversary, which annoyed her because the flower is traditionally reserved for the dead, Xi'an Evening News reported on Monday. Liu wanted to surprise his wife, but with little knowledge of flowers he chose the yellow chrysanthemum - a traditional choice for Tomb Sweeping Day. He had no idea why his wife was annoyed until his daughter explained.

Xinhua - China Daily

Ready for takeoff A kite, featuring images of South Korean pop star Psy doing the horse dance from his hit song Gangnam Style, is being prepared during the International Kites Festival at Fairy Mountain, Chongqing, on Sunday. Twelve teams from China and abroad showed off their best designed kites and performances during the three-day gala. Photo by ran wen / for China Daily

(China Daily USA 04/08/2014 page3)