More than a thousand pupils at a high school in Liupanshui , Guizhou , stormed their canteen after it raised food prices, in the latest display of public discontent over runaway inflation.
Children at the No 2 middle school found the price of a bottle of boiled water had been raised from 70 fen to one yuan (HK$1.16) on Monday. The price of each dish rose 50 fen and rice and bread prices also rose.
The pupils rushed to the canteen at 10pm after their evening study session.
Liupanshui government spokesman Yuan Guozhong , who blamed the price increases on soaring vegetable prices, said: 'There are some students from low-income families and they felt strongly about the price increases. Some students turned very emotional during the process and started vandalising the canteen.'
Photographs from the mainland media show a chaotic scene, with canteen doors smashed and shattered glass.
The prices of cotton, sugar, garlic, cabbage, green beans and pork have started to fall but mainlanders have not forgotten the impact of recent higher prices.