Biz Scene: Biz Unusual

Cop dog training

Farmers in several villages around Kunming, Yunnan Province, have found a new way of making a living - helping local police forces raise and train sleuthhounds. Since 2004, the police station in Kunming has signed contracts with many farmers in the city's rural areas and taught them the skills to train dogs, which help farmers to deliver trained sleuthhounds to police. Mao Fengliu, a 44-year-old farmer, said he has earned about 5,000 yuan by training dogs.

Smelling opportunity

An entrepreneur surnamed Shan, who runs a business of making smelly bean curd in Tonghua, Jilin Province, recently registered "Mowenwei" as the trademark for his odorous food. It means "don't smell its odor" in Chinese. But the trademark's pronunciation is the same as that of a famous Hong Kong movie star. Shan said that could help promote the marketing of his wares.

Micro robot

The world's smallest "robot" recently made its debut in Shanghai. The robot, called "iSobot", was designed by a Japanese toy company, and manufactured by a company in Dongguan, Guangdong Province. The mini-robot is 16.5 cm tall and weighs 350 grams. It can walk, dance, and understand 10 different languages.

The Dongguan-based toy producer said the robot is sold at 2,000 yuan each, and they plan to introduce the toy in other cities around the country.

Adult education pays off

Some companies in Jiangsu Province have begun to transfer their recruiting sources from graduates of famous universities to students graduating from adult education centers. In a recruitment fair recently held in Nanjing, the provincial capital, earlier this month, some companies offered a moonthly salary of more than 5,000 yuan to attract adult students. An HR manager with a local food company said these students have more work experience and have a better attitude compared with top university graduates.

(China Daily 11/07/2007 page15)