China Scene: West
Old man treads in father's wartime footsteps
Shi Juncai, 68, has just completed a tour of the country tracing the life of his father, a soldier who took part in the Chinese Liberation War and died in 1992 at the age of 84.
"As I get older, I miss my father more and more and I wanted to collect his old stories," said Shi, who is from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province.
It took Shi 58 days to cover more than 8,000 km, visiting every place his father stayed or fought at. After collecting a lot of information about his father's wartime exploits he made a book commemorating him, called "Father's Trace".
(Chongqing Morning News)
Shame, money woes drive businessman to the brink
A 30-year-old man from Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province, made an unsuccessful suicide attempt because he made less money than his wife
Cao and his wife were classmates at university and got married after graduation. Cao's wife works at a large company and is well paid, whereas Cao's business failed and he lost a lot of money.
On Monday, he returned home and told his wife he earned around 3,000 yuan ($430) last month. She mocked him by saying she had earned twice as much.
Cao was so embarrassed he took a large amount of sleeping pills in an attempt to kill himself.
(Guizhou Metropolis Daily)
Old man's final request is to see savior again
A hospitalized 78-year-old man called Xin, from Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, is eager to find a young man who saved his life four years ago.
"I'm seriously ill and I want to see the young man again," Xin told local media in the hope they could locate him.
On Nov 24, 2003, Xin went out to do his morning exercises but fell into a deep pit. He was seriously injured and could not get out, before a young man jumped in to help him. He then called emergency services and made sure Xin was taken to hospital.
"I have been thinking about the man for four years and I hope to see him again before I pass away," Xin said.
(Xi'an Evening News)
Farmer builds shrine to country's fallen leaders
Zhang Deben, a farmer in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, has built an exhibition hall at his home to commemorate the late Chairman Mao Zedong and other deceased leaders.
Several local residents visited Zhang's exhibition hall to pay their respect to the nation's late leaders during the just-concluded Tomb Sweeping Festival. Zhang spent 3 million yuan (about $428,000) on the exhibition hall and about 1 million yuan more collecting goods to exhibit.
"The opening and reform policy has given me a chance to establish my own enterprise and to live a happy life. I built the museum to show my respect and have opened it for free to visitors," Zhang said.
(Sanqin Metropolis Daily)
Just when you think you've beaten the thieves
Feng, a resident of Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, thought he had outsmarted the neighborhood thieves.
"I bought a new car, and I leave it parked outside my apartment every night. Because the local thieves seem to like stealing license plates, I remove my plates every night. But then on Saturday morning, I went out to my car to find that the tires had been stolen," Feng said dejectedly.
Police said they had heard about plenty of cases of stolen license plates, but this was the first involving stolen tires. Police are investigating.
(Sanqin Metropolis Daily)
Reports of husband's death prove exaggerated
A woman who went to court to declare the death of her husband after he went missing for five years was surprised to find he was still alive and well.
Luo Li, 39, from Chongqing municipality, married Zhang Qiang in 2001 and they had a child. In 2003, Zhang left her, citing incompatibility, and she did not hear from him again despite trying to contact him.
Presuming he was dead, Luo went to court for an official declaration but was surprised when Zhang's parents told the presiding judges he was working in Singapore.
They said he hated his wife and pleaded with them not to tell her where he was. Zhang has returned to Chongqing to file for a divorce.
(Chongqing Times)
(China Daily 04/09/2008 page6)
