Briefs
More Pot Soldiers
Yet more terracotta soldiers have been discovered near Xi'an and this find may be even more spectacular than the first two.
The astonishing discovery north of the Xi'an airport expressway of tens of thousands of warriors stretches six kilometers long and three kilometers wide underground.
Experts say Han Dynasty Emperor Han Jingdi (156-143BC) is buried here along with his wife and more than 100 others, probably sacrificial servants and concubines.
Peasants digging a well first discovered the pottery soldiers in 1974. They are regarded as one of the most amazing archaeological finds of the 20th century.
Those soldiers, representing Emperor Qin Shi Huang's imperial guards, are located 1,500 meters from the emperor's imperial tomb.
The warriors have unique facial features and an array of weapons, poses and heights. More than 3,000 soldiers, 96 horses, and 11 chariots have been unearthed in this first site so far.
Experts believe thousands more will be discovered: Xi'an was the original capital city of China, home to 11 dynasties including that of Emperor Qin, the boy emperor who conquered all six of China's kingdoms and was the first to successfully unify the country.
Tigers, Apples Hit Streets
Dalian City has introduced a world-first taxi identification scheme upon the suggestion of an incredibly imaginative local police.
The seaside city's 8,000 cabs now come classified in different colors, animals, plants and fruits, together with two numbers (00-99).
In the event of an accident, complaint or lost article, the taxi can be identified by its prominent window sticker. For example, Tiger 22, Elephant 99, Apple 09. It is thought to be the first scheme of its kind in the world.
Painting Raises Record High
Contemporary oil painter Chen Yifei's "Lingering Melodies from the Xunyang River" broke the auction record at the China Guardian '99 Spring Auction recently.
The successful 2,970,000 yuan (US$358,000) bid came from an anonymous Chinese entrepreneur, breaking the previous record 2,860,000 yuan (US$350,000) raised for "Wind of Mountain Village" by the same artist in the '94 Guardian Autumn Auction.
The China Guardian '99 Spring Auction lasted three days and bidding totaled 51,530,000 yuan.
Chinese Eat Up Greens
The average Chinese now eats an amazing 0.71 kilograms of vegetables a day, according to the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science statistics that appeared in the English-language Guangzhou Morning Post.
This latest hot Chinese vegetable stat trounces the world average: a limp 0.29, officials claim. According to the front-page article, China's per-capita vegetable consumption has reached 253 kilograms a year, well above the world average of 102 kilograms.
It remained unclear at presstime which vegetables were involved or whether rice qualified.
"China at present has 11 million hectares of vegetables with an output of 313 million tons, and growing vegetables has become one major source of income for Chinese farmers," said Fang Zhiyuan of the academy.
The official newspaper's front page also featured an eye-catching color photograph of a python strategically wrapped around an American TV actress playing Cleopatra in a TV mini-series.
Biker Goes Down South
Liang Zuozhou, 81, set off from Beijing on his13th annual bicycle expedition to South China recently, a distance of about 2,311 kilometers to Liuzhou, in South Guangxi.
Since retiring in 1986, Liang has cycled more than 60,000 kilometers and visited more than 31 provinces on his Yong Jiu (Everlasting) bicycle.
Usually, he cycles 50 kilometers a day, visiting the local sport commissions, elderly people's organizations and Communist Party history offices.
He usually returns to his hometown Tangshan, Hebei Province in November.
Liang joined the People's Liberation Army in its final battles of 1948 and fought in the Korean War in 1950.
In April 1949, his army marched south to liberate Liuzhou. This year, he is following the exact route. When asked about future plans, he replied, "I will make 20 more journeys until I am 100 years old."
Peking Man Meeting
China's top scientific research body plans to sponsor an international symposium on October 12-16, marking the 70th anniversary of the discovery of the Peking Man fossils.
Scientists have recently discovered more remnants of ape-like humans in Yunnan, Sichuan and Anhui.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences wants to mark the occasion when Professor Pei Wenzhong discovered the 500,000 year-old broken skull.
Fancy a Cuppa?
One kilogram of Gubin tea was snapped up for 58,000 yuan by a teahouse owner, reported the Yangcheng Evening News recently.
"Now I can treat my friends to really good tea when they come," said a Mr. Tang after the Guangdong Province Tea Auction on June 3.
Altogether eight teas were sold at the auction, averaging more than 10,000 yuan a kilogram.
Bird Killers Jailed
Two men have been indicted and sentenced to jail for 12 years on charges of killing swans and other rare birds in Hennan.
The two farmers, Zhu Zhongping and Zhao Shishi, poisoned dozens of swans and hundreds of wild ducks at the Yellow River Wetland Reserve of Sanmenxia last December.
Since the mid-1980s, the reserve has attracted an increasing number of rare birds.
But thousands of swans fled their usual wintry resort after the poisoning incident.
Garden Grows Green Again
Reduced to rubble by a fire decades ago, the Jianfu Palace Garden in the Forbidden City will be restored with money pooled by individuals and international communities.
Also known as the West Garden, it was built in 1740, but destroyed by a fire in 1923.
None of its structures except the plinths and some base stones for columns remain, but they provide a general idea of the garden's layout and dimensions of the buildings.
The project is sponsored by the China Heritage Fund, a non-profit organization registered in Hong Kong and the United States.
Working closely with the State Bureau of Cultural Relics and Museums, the foundation plans to donate up to US$4 million for the restoration of cultural relics within China.
Students Open Company
China's first student-owned company has been set up by four students from Qinghua University.
They moved to their new office in Huaye Mansion near the Qinghua University for half price, a special university rate.
Shimeile Technology Company Limited is the work of four Qinghua students majoring in different subjects.
The 500,000 yuan registration capital is allegedly mostly earnings from part-time jobs.
Qiu Hongyun, junior of the Material Department, said he won't quit studying for the company.
He said will try his best to take care of both at the same time. But if the company can't cut it, Qiu admitted he and the others will probably be forced to down books and pick up calculators instead.
Model Student Wins
Eighteen-year-old Zheng Fangfei was chosen champion of the North China final of the '99 Elite Model Look China in the China World Shopping Mall in Beijing on June 6.
Zheng, a grade-three student at No. 61 High School in Beijing, joined the school's modeling team two years ago and is now trained by Galaxy Model Management Co. Ltd.
"I was extremely happy and a little surprised when I heard my name come out of the host's mouth," said Zheng. "By attending the competition, I hope to find out whether I'm capable of being a professional model."
Twelve thousand girls from more than 50 cities in China enrolled for the modeling contest. Forty five of them participated in the North China Final. During the one-hour competition, the models displayed daytime, leisure and evening dresses.
Only 15 models can attend the national final of the '99 Elite Model Look China to be held in Beijing on July 6. The contest will include winners from six other regions in China.