Biz Scene: Biz Unusual

Horse sense

As equestrianism gets more and more popular, a new profession has emerged in clipping and repairing of horse nails.

Gao Sijun, a 37-year-old ex-serviceman, has been cutting and repairing nails of precious horses in Chengdu. He says the job is a little dangerous since he has to protect himself from the horses' kicks.

His tools, including special files, clipper, pliers and knives, are worth 10,000 yuan. He earns 100 yuan on each horse and makes at least 10,000 yuan per month.

Skill exchange

"I can drive, I want to find a English-speaking friend to exchange skills. I will teach him or her to drive and he or she can teach me English." So goes a "skill exchange" ad posted on a community website.

After the popularity of online exchange forums for used products, similar ones on "skill exchange" have begun to appear in some community websites.

The skills on offer for exchange online range from foreign languages, painting, playing musical instrument, photography to swimming, cooking and dancing. Many Internet users like skill exchange platforms, saying it enables them to learn new things without paying money, and make friends at the same time.

Top tent

The nation's largest tent was recently displayed at a tent fair in Longhu Mountain in East China's Jiangxi Province. The tent is 10 meters long, 8 meters wide and 1.8 meters high. It has three bedrooms and two sitting rooms, as well as a kitchen. Its manufacturer said people can party in it.

The tent fair is held in open air at the mountain valley and attracts 3,500 visitors. About 385 tourism clubs have displayed their tents at the fair.

Parking space

In a newly developed high-end residential complex in Shenzhen, parking spaces are going for as much as 460,000 yuan. The apartment's developer said the complex has only about 100 parking spots, roughly equivalent to the number of apartment units. But as some families have more than one car, there is a huge demand for parking spaces, pushing up their prices up to 200,000 yuan to 460,000 yuan.

(China Daily 09/25/2007 page15)