China Scene: North

Dogs get unexpected taste of freedom after crash

A truck carrying 626 dogs overturned on Sunday near Yanji, Jilin province, and most of the dogs escaped into the wilderness.

Residents of a nearby village woke to the sound of barking and many of them hurried to the spot to help police. A police officer surnamed Wang was almost bitten while helping to collect the dogs.

However, most of the canines were long gone within minutes of the accident. Only 97 wound up in custody. Counting the dogs left, the driver, surnamed Wang, sighed, saying: "At least 100,000 yuan ($14,100) was lost as a result of the accident."

(New Culture View)

Horror films unleash officer's investigating skills

Wan Rong, the youngest female police officer in Beijing's Xicheng district, was a very timid person after graduating from college, so she gradually built up her courage by watching horror movies.

Now she has found new confidence in her criminal investigation skills.

She is said to have been so scared the first time she saw a dead body during an autopsy that she had nightmares for weeks.

To soften the psychological strain of such incidents, she watched films such as The Silence of the Lambs and soon became one of the district's best investigators.

(Beijing Evening News)

Collector has second thoughts about big jade

A man surnamed Liu bought a four-ton piece of Burmese jade to liven up his home in Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi province. However, it soon became clear that keeping such a large stone inside could damage his home, so he moved it into the yard.

He bought the huge stone for 800,000 yuan ($113,000) several years ago and carved images of China's five well-known mountains into it.

To prevent it from being stolen, he lets several dogs roam freely in the yard and has installed a high-tech security system. The stone has many admirers in the city.

(Shanxi Evening News)

(China Daily 03/20/2008 page6)