China Scene: West

Phony quake 'victims' detained for fraud

Two suspects were arrested on Thursday by police in Chongqing municipality for misrepresenting themselves as victims of the deadly May 12 earthquake in order to obtain "relief" money.

The men allegedly had been placing telephone calls requesting donations to households in Guizhou, Jiangsu and Hubei provinces.

Police also arrested two suspects accused of stealing property from families who fled their homes in the wake of the earthquake.

(Chongqing Morning News)

'Lucky duck' stone is money-maker for farmer

A farmer in Jintian village in Chongqing municipality recently stumbled across a lucky rock.

"A few days ago I went up the mountain to get some mushrooms, and I found a stone which is shaped very much like a duck," said Liu Daichu, a farmer in the mountainous village.

Liu sold the stone in a nearby market to a city-dweller amused by its novelty for 500 yuan ($70).

Other villagers are now on the hunt for similar rocks.

(Chongqing Morning News)

Girl learns ingenuity through hard knocks

Ran Sihui, the 12-year-old daughter of a poor farmer in mountainous Xiaodian village in Chongqing municipality, has been taking care of herself and family members for seven years.

Ran's mother died of disease when the girl was a toddler. Soon after, her father left home to work as a migrant worker, and Ran went to live with her grandmother.

At 5, Ran began cooking meals and taking care of her sickly grandmother. After her grandmother died, Ran learned pig farming to support herself.

"Though I am living a hard life, I think I can manage all things for me, and I hope to help my father to pay back the debt gained during the medical treatment for my mother," Ran said.

(Chongqing Morning Post)

Unexpected crowd of elephants in Yunnan

Thirty-two Asian elephants - an unusually large number - have been sighted over a period of five days in a nature preserve in Yunnan province.

Li Fuming, head of the reserve's wild elephant observation team, speculated that the large group had congregated because of the current mating season.

(www.shxb.net)

(China Daily 06/13/2008 page6)