China Scene: East

Farm vehicles bolster Sichuan relief efforts

Ten farmers from Shandong province spent two weeks assisting recovery efforts in the region struck by the May 12 earthquake.

The men used their own farm equipment to help erect emergency shelters, lay water pipelines, build toilets and transport relief materials in Sichuan province. Each day, they ate dry instant noodles and slept in their vehicles.

The farmers recently returned home to a heroes' welcome.

(Qilu Evening News)

Children seek friends for elderly parents

Many loyal sons and daughters in Shanghai have invited parents from Sichuan, where the deadly earthquake struck last month, to live with them. Some are concerned that their new guests will feel forlorn in the unfamiliar city and have posted online advertisements for elderly friends.

"I have to work in daytime and I am afraid my parents will feel lonely in a strange city. I hope people in the same situation can keep contact and allow the parents to chat and have fun here," wrote one man surnamed Luo in an online forum.

Some neighborhood committees in Shanghai are making plans to organize free social activities - such as fishing outings and drawing classes - for the benefit of refugees from the earthquake.

(Shanghai Morning Post)

New database of WWII Jewish refugees in Shanghai

Last Thursday, the Consulate General of Israel in Shanghai and the Hongkou District Government jointly announced the release of the first database of Jewish refugees who settled in Shanghai around the time of World War II.

Chen Jian, curator of the Jewish Refugee Memorial Hall of Shanghai, said that as many as 30,000 Jewish refugees from Germany and Eastern Europe may have settled in Shanghai between 1933 and 1941.

At present, the database includes archival information pertaining to about 600 refugees. This information includes names, birthplaces, occupations, and current contact information for survivors or their family members.

(Labor Daily)

Luxury trash-collecting ship launched

It looks like a yacht, but actually it's a garbage collecting ship.

A Chinese company has begun manufacturing ships to clean trash from harbors that aren't riverfront eyesores. The new vessels have been designed to resemble luxury yachts.

The ships cost 3 million yuan ($434,000) to build.

The first ship made its maiden voyage last Thursday, cleaning refuse from Shanghai's Huangpu River.

(Shanghai Morning Post)

Seniors bond over global travel

They were born in 1930s, and today they share the same hobby: traveling. Thirty-nine senior citizens who regularly travel together arrived at Shanghai Pudong International Airport early last week, after a 10-day tour of Japan.

One couple arrived feeling a little sick. Immigration officials at the airport provided them with medicine and a room to rest.

(Shanghai Evening News)

Upstairs neighbors attempt to put out fire below

An elderly couple in Jiangxi province were cooking breakfast on Wednesday morning when the gas flame suddenly set fire to their apartment's wooden windows.

When the couple cried out for help, their upstairs neighbors located the fire and began pouring barrels of water out their own windows in an attempt to stop the fire below.

Firefighters came later and successfully extinguished the flames.

(Information Daily)

(China Daily 06/13/2008 page6)