China Scene: West

Railway soldiers get their place in history

The country's first museum for railway soldiers will be built in Leshan, Sichuan province.

The railway soldiers were assembled in 1948 to build railways, but the unit was dissolved on April 9, 1982, when the railway construction bureau under the ministry of railways was created. When the unit existed, railway soldiers built most of the country's railways.

(Tianfu Morning News)

Mountain villagers dream of greater stature

Villagers in Mingyangci village, Sichuan province, would like nothing more than to grow as tall as other people.

There are about 800 people living in this mountainous village where the average height is just 80 cm. The tallest resident is no more than 1.6 m. Many of the villagers stopped growing at the age of five, and none of the investigations carried out over the years have been able to explain the condition.

A week ago, a group of doctors from Nanjing, Jiangsu province, visited the village and tried to use acupuncture to help the villagers grow.

"We learned about the villagers' story from a media report, and we wanted to do something about it," said An Peizhen, head of the doctor group.

(www.cnhan.com)

Four students at the cultural college of Yunnan normal university in Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, rescued a green peacock from a dog's mouth.

On Sunday morning, the students heard barking and saw a dog attacking a peacock. They ran to the scene, scared off the dog and took the peacock back to their room. Later they learned that the peacock had run out of a home for destitute old people that sits next to their school. They eventually returned the bird.

(Yunnan Daily)

Ex-convict makes history by accepting relief funds

Zhang Jun, a resident of Dujiangyan, Sichuan province, on Wednesday became the first person in China to be given a living allowance after completing a jail term.

Zhang killed a man who was trying to rape her one night 15 years ago when she was working at the small restaurant she owned. After completing her sentence early last month, Zhang could not find a job and was having a hard time adjusting.

In order to help people who struggle to find a normal life after prison, the local government launched a project to give ex-cons 200 yuan ($30) a month for the first six months after their release. Zhang is the first to enjoy the support.

(Chengdu Commercial Daily)

Qinghai Lake officials keeping an eye on birds

The administration bureau of Qinghai Lake in Qinghai province will be paying close attention to the health of wild birds.

Qinghai Lake is located in the eastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau at an altitude of over 3,200 m and covers an area of 4,300 sq km. As China's largest inland saltwater lake and one of the world's most important wetlands, the lake is a natural place for bird breeding. Every March and April, thousands of migratory birds come to the lake to mate.

(www.qhnews.net)

(China Daily 04/03/2008 page6)