No substitute for life on rural TV shows

A farmer who has received no formal film training is nevertheless writing and directing TV shows about rural life.

Ren Minghua, 56, from Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province, has a middle-school education and dreamed of performing. Since 2005 she has had roles in more than 50 TV plays and written 20 scripts.

Two TV shows written and directed by Ren have already been broadcast on local stations and a third play is in post-production.

"I have been living on a farm and I know about rural living and what farmers think. I can't stand some TV shows about rural life that have no idea what they're talking about, so I decided to do it myself," Ren said.

(http://news.huash.com )

Wild birds saved from foul fate

Around 1,000 wild birds that were about to become supper have been released in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

"We found the birds in restaurants and they would have been eaten if we had not bought and released them. We hope more people will pay attention to the protection of wild birds," said Wei Lai, director of the Xinjiang Bird Protection Committee.

(Urban Consumer Morning Post)

One man's trash is another's furniture

Migrant worker Zhang Liang collects discarded cartons and fashions them into furniture.

The 25 year old from Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province, started his furniture business in 2002 when he worked at a packaging factory in East China's Shandong Province.

"I rented a house but I had no money to buy furniture so I thought that I could make some temporary furniture with the waste cartons at my factory," Zhang said. His products were so well made that his friends wanted some as well.

(Xi'an Evening News)

Six-year-old girl saves grandmother's life

Six-year-old Feng Jiexin saved her grandmother's life when she found the old lady unconscious early on Monday morning.

Feng, from Hecun Village, Shaanxi Province, lives with just her grandmother as her parents are migrant workers and live elsewhere.

Feng ran 200 m to her neighbor's home and they sent the old women to hospital. Doctors said Feng's grandmother would have died if she had not been hospitalized so quickly.

"I was afraid when I saw her lying on the ground and I feared the darkness outside. However, I had to get help for my grandmother," Feng said.

(http://news.huash.com)

(China Daily 10/19/2007 page4)