Woman spurns marriage to care for parents

A caring daughter in Sichuan remains unmarried at the age of 37 to take care of her bed-ridden father.

Zhang Hongying completed her education in 1984 at the age of 17 but has stayed home ever since to care for her sick parents.

Though she has had lovers, none agreed to marry her after learning of her responsibilities.

"My daughter is the best daughter in the world. I feel guilty to keep her at home," said her father in tears.

Chongqing Evening News

And this little piggy goes to the beauty contest

A competition to determine the best-looking pig was held recently in Rongchang, Sichuan Province.

Of the 130,000 pigs, 90 made the cut. Experts selected the king and the queen according to national health standards for pigs, such as body, growth and breeding records.

The king is 1.35 metres long, with a chest measurement of 1.2 metres and weighs 122 kilograms. The queen's length is 1.5 metres. She weighs 160 kilograms and has bred 51 healthy piglets.

www.sina.com.cn

Mice-eating pigeon escapes cook's pot

A pigeon in Chongqing has saved itself from the dinner table by catching mice.

During the last Spring Festival, an old couple in Chongqing bought a pair of pigeons to make soup. The female one was killed that day while the male was left for the next day.

But that evening, the couple heard strange noises and were astonished to see the bird biting a mouse to death.

It has now become the couple's faithful companion. They said: "It has added a lot of fun to our daily lives."

Chongqing Evening News

Woman faints as flying dog lands dead on her

A woman fainted when a dog that flew down from the top of a building hit her as she sat drinking tea in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.

The dog, weighing about 5 kilograms, had been left on the rooftop by its owner for a "breath of fresh air." It unexpectedly fell down and died.

Its owner has agreed to pay the medical fees for the shocked woman, surnamed Bai, who had to be hospitalized.

Huaxi Metropolis News

Man brings pictures to life by using iron pieces

Many people paint but this man does with an iron wire not a brush.

Li Dongyun of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region graduated from arts school many years ago. In 1979, he began painting with iron wires on wood. In 1990, he switched to painting on paper, from thick ones to thin ones. One of his works called Pine and Crane has won him much praise. In another painting entitled Peacock and Peony, he depicts the tail of the peacock so vividly that it appears to jump out of the paper.

Inner Mongolia Morning Post

Man surrenders 13 years after committing theft

Better late than never. A man who escaped from legal punishment 13 years ago has finally confessed to the public security bureau after being persuaded by his family for years.

In 1992, Wang Liang committed robbery with three others, who were arrested and jailed in Neijiang, in Southwest China's Sichuan Province. Wang fled the city and moved to Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and later to East China's Zhejiang, where he settled down.

After constant urging by his wife and parents, Wang finally plucked up courage and surrendered to the law. In mitigation, he has been given a lower sentence of one year in jail.

West China Metropolis Daily

Collector to gift rare war drawings to museum

A man in Zigong, in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, hopes to contribute his beloved drawing collection to a museum to mark the upcoming National Day.

Li Keli has been in possession of a rare and precious drawing collection portraying the liberation wars from 1945 to 1949 for the past 58 years.

His collection is one of only a few such drawings in China.

West China Metropolis Daily

4 divers struggle whole day to move park sharks

Moving three giant fish around in a water park in Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province, turned out to be one tough mission.

The arrival of thousands of tropical fish in the park for the National Day celebrations necessitated moving the sharks, each weighing more than 100 kilograms, to another section of the park.

It took four divers a whole day to complete the task.

West China Metropolis Daily

Pig skin successfully grafted on to burnt infant

A badly burnt baby may yet have hope thanks to skin grafted from pigs.

More than 90 per cent of the skin cells grafted on 1-year-old Tang Xin are alive, much to the excitement of doctors and the infant's parents.

Tang was burnt by boiling water last month in Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Tang's doctor Ye Xiaoli said he would be released from hospital soon.

Chengdu Daily

Here come the games for animals

Trained wild animals from across China are headed to Chongqing Municipality in Southwest China to participate in the first-ever games for wild animals during the National Day holidays.

A total of 21 wildlife parks, including those in Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Hangzhou, are sending their best to show off their talents and skills on stage.

Some of these acts include a black bear walking race, boxing, orang-utan basketball and hurdles race and parrot skating.

Talkative parrot has been chosen to emcee the games.

Chongqing has the largest wildlife park in the country with more than 30,000 animals.

Chongqing Evening News

(China Daily 09/30/2005 page5)