China Scene: Central

No smoking contest to find biggest winners

A contest to quit smoking has been launched in Hubei province to help local residents curb the dangerous practice and create better working and living environments.

The maximum award for the winners will be as high as 5,000 yuan ($714).

Contestants must be 18 years of age or older and have smoked for more than a year.

Candidates can register on the Internet or at local outlets of disease control and prevention departments before the international 'no smoking day' on May 31.

Winners will not be allowed to smoke even a single cigarette for six months from June to November, with a presentation to be held in December.

The contest is organized by the province's centre of disease control and prevention.

(www.xinhuanet.com)

College founds horse racing major to meet demand

Wuhan Commercial College has launched a horse racing major, the first such subject on the Chinese mainland.

Forty freshmen will be enrolled under the school's tourism management department for the coming school term in September.

In addition to a theoretical component, students will also be required to learn how to ride a horse and organize a horse racing event during the three-year program.

The students will be trained mainly to work at more than 200 equestrian clubs nationwide.

The mainland currently has a distinct dearth of horse racing personnel. With only about 10,000 qualified workers, China needs more than 100,000 newly skilled staff to meet growing demand.

(Chutian Metropolis Daily)

(China Daily 05/13/2008 page6)