China Scene: West
Dog and rescuer are saved from river
Last Saturday, a dog that was chasing a butterfly, fell into the Haiyuan River near the Kunming Medical College in Yunnan. Zou Wenjie, a 22-year-old college student who happened to pass the river, tried to save the dog from the river that is more than 4 meters deep, but was stranded.
At the sight of his plight, four women who were collecting rubbish, formed a rope using canes and pulled him and the dog ashore.
(Life Journal)
Shouting triggers well water to rise
A mysterious well in Chongqing Municipality is apparently sensitive to human voice. Its water level rises about 2cm when someone shouts or throws a stone near it. About 10 minutes later, the water level drops to its normal level.
The well is in Longchi Village in Youyang, a county under Chongqing's administration. Ran Meng'e, a 78-year-old villager, said the well had been like this since he was a child. One year, the county suffered from an unusual drought and a big reservoir nearby was dry. But the well in his village was never dry although between 40 and 50 people queued up to "shout" to extract water from it each day, he said.
Zhu Shunzhi, a geologist, said the phenomenon is caused by siphon and physical vibration. The water in the well and the underground water are at different levels. The well water goes up when a vibration occur.
(Chongqing Evening News)
Shop owners threaten thieves with notes
To help combat a spate of theft, shopkeepers have plastered notices in front of their stores to help discourage thieves who frequent stores along Beidiwang Street in Chongqing.
More than 20 notices can been seen in front of some 20 shops along the street which read "theft is shameful and thieves will be paid off."
Since July, thieves have stolen cash or computers from many shops along the street. Although shop owners have made police reports, theft is still rampant. They put up the notices to vent their anger and to warn the thieves, some owners said.
(Chongqing Evening News)
(China Daily 09/04/2007 page6)
