China Scene: West

Taxi driver saves man from afternoon binge

Xiao Jianjun, a taxi driver in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, rescued a young man who was left seriously injured by a fall last Tuesday.

Xiao was driving down the street that afternoon when he saw a young man faint. He stopped his car and took the man to a nearby hospital. Doctors said the man was drunk and hit his head when he fell.

(Sanqin Metropolis Daily)

Illegal cigarettes made into charcoal

A haul of confiscated cigarettes is being turned into charcoal in Lanzhou, Gansu province.

Illegal cigarettes worth 15.12 million yuan ($2.14 million) were broken up in a machine at a charcoal producer in the city's Xigu district last Friday and will be used to make charcoal.

The local cigarette administration bureau said the cigarettes-to-charcoal project was a new innovation.

(Lanzhou Morning News)

Thief no match for tech-savvy student

A 14-year-old student helped police catch the thief who stole his mobile phone in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

When Xiao Bin was stopped by a thief on Sunday, he activated a function on his phone so that it would send a message to his father every time a call was made.

The thief took Xiao's phone. When he later made a call, Xiao's father was able to tell police the thief's location. Police then arrested the man.

(Xinjiang Metropolis Daily)

Rare elephants get museum in Yunnan

The Asian Elephant Museum opened last Sunday in a valley in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province.

The museum covers an area of 700 sq m and has nine exhibits covering the origin, evolution, physiology, ecology and protection of Asian elephants.

Asian elephants were listed as an endangered species in 1997 by the World Conservation Union and the animal is under the highest State-level protection in China.

(www.xinhuanet.com)

Police act quickly to avert train tragedy

Police rescued a mentally disabled girl from railway tracks as a train approached on Monday in Xuanwei, Yunnan province.

Three policemen were patrolling alongside the city's railway line when they spotted the girl on the tracks.

They called to the girl, but she didn't respond.

Realizing a train was approaching, the policemen jumped onto the tracks and managed to whisk the girl to safety just in time.

(Yunnan Daily)

(China Daily 03/25/2008 page6)