China Scene: East

Downwardly mobile man breakes eyeglass ceiling

A Shanghai man survived a fall from a 7th floor window last Wednesday, crashing through the roof of a street-level eyeglass store.

A saleswoman in the store heard the ceiling rumble and break as the 30-something man dropped through the ceiling, his face covered with blood.

Police sent the man to a hospital where he was treated for multiple bone fractures. The incident is under investigation.

(Xinwen Evening News)

Police round up running bull

A running bull in downtown Xiamen, Fujian Province, was finally brought under control by police and a bull-savvy passerby.

The 200-kilogram bull was spotted strolling along a Xiamen greenbelt Monday. As the crowd of onlookers grew, the bull became frightened and started running. Police rushed to the spot and cornered the bull with police cars.

A young man at the scene quickly pulled the nose ring of the bull, getting it under control. Police then circled the bull's neck with a rope and tied it to a tree. The next day the bull's owner reclaimed it.

(Straits Metropolitan News)

Octogenarian 'too old' for solo hotel stay

An 85-year-old traveler seeking a hotel room in Anqing, Anhui Province, finally had to get police assistance.

The man surnamed Tang, from Jiangxi Province, was turned down by a string of small hotels whose staff all said he was too old to stay alone. With police intervention, a hotel finally agreed to give Tang overnight accommodation.

Tang said he had traveled in many cities and this was the first time he was turned down by hotels because of his age.

(Xin'an Evening News)

Classy waitresses cater to cafe society

A caf in Taipei County, Taiwan Province, is attracting well-paid waitresses who are attracting customers in their French-maid black dresses and white aprons.

The caf requires that its waitresses be about 1.6 meters tall, weigh less than 45 kilograms, and have a college education.

(ET Today)

'King of Invention' designs from prison

An inmate in Chaohu, Anhui Province, is known as the "King of Invention" with five patents.

Surnamed Li, the "King of Invention" landed in jail for financial fraud in 1998.

Last year when he learned from a TV report that the country was seeking a torch design for the Beijing Olympics, Li spent two months on a design. Although his design incorporating the horns of a bull wasn't a winner, Li has received more than 1,000 letters from enterprises inviting him to be their technical expert when he gets out of prison in seven years.

(Anhui Business Daily)

Looking for kindly stranger in Qiu'ai

A migrant worker in Shiqi, Ningbo, has been making trips to Qiu'ai, a county in Zhejiang Province, looking for the young man who helped his uncle two months ago.

The worker, surnamed Kang, said his uncle was robbed of all his money on his way to Zhejiang Province. The desperate man shouted for help, attracting a crowd.

One of the onlookers gave him 200 yuan ($26), leaving his mobile number for the loan repayment. When Kang called the number to return the money, the number could not be reached.

Now Kang has turned to local media to help him connect with the warm-hearted stranger.

(www.kingboo.net)

(China Daily 07/25/2007 page6)