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SCMP Reporter

LIAONING
Dining on the rocks
A new restaurant in Shenyang is offering diners a seasonal choice of dining in a giant outdoor igloo, Xinhua reports. The structure, made of 500 ice bricks, seats from four to 10 diners. The interior is heated so customers won’t freeze.
Kitten saves mother
A vet has saved a 15-year-old rare breed cat by tracking down one of its kittens born a decade ago to provide an urgent blood transfusion, the Shenyang Evening News reports. The vet located the kitten via an appeal for help on Weibo after two earlier transfusions that failed. China does not have blood banks for pets, unlike the US and the UK, making transfusions difficult. The elder cat was suffering from kidney failure, anaemia and pancreatitis. After the transfusion, she regained her strength considerably.
 
CHONGQING
800 officials punished
More than 800 officials were punished for violating party discipline – a euphemism for corruption – in the municipality last year, the Chongqing Morning Post reports. Most cases involved lavish weddings for offspring, extravagant restaurant dining, the use of government cars for private purposes, overseas travel and gambling – all paid for with public funds.
Dampener on open fires
Burning firewood at restaurants will be banned to help reduce air pollution, the Chongqing Morning Post reports. While many diners believed food cooked over a wood fire tasted better, officials said wood smoke was an important source of air pollutants. Violators face fines of up to 20,000 yuan (HK$25,500).
 
FUJIAN
Projects ‘worth 3tr yuan’ 
Total investment in large infrastructure projects is expected to top 3 trillion yuan this year, most of it in the province’s new free trade zone, the National Business Daily reports. More than 80 projects are on the books, including expressways, metro lines, high-speed rail and new airports. Three nuclear power plants are also under construction. The Fujian Free Trade Zone aims to boost trade with Taiwan.
Mauled over fake mall
A former government official in charge of an urban demolition project in Fuzhou has been arrested for “destroying” a shopping mall that did not exist, the Southeast Express News reports. The former director of house demolition projects in Jinshan district claimed more than 10 million yuan in government compensation in 2008 by forging documents proving the building’s existence. But investigators said archived satellite images could not find the building.
 
GUANGXI
Two maim dog in scam
Two men were arrested in Liujiang county last week for using a wounded dog as bait to extort money, Gxnews.cn reports. The suspects broke the legs of a dog then placed it on a road. When a driver stopped to assist the injured animal, the men came out and accused the victim of stealing their dog. The driver paid them 1,500 yuan under the threat of violence. The suspects were later arrested and confessed to the crime.
Billboard danger zone
About 60 per cent of advertising billboards along local expressways are illegal and pose safety risks to drivers, the Nanguo Morning News reports. Provincial traffic authorities found that only 500 of more than 1,200 highway billboards were officially approved. Most of the illegal signs were made with cheap materials by villagers and sometimes fell on to the road in strong winds, a hazard to drivers. A billboard can generate 200,000 yuan revenue a year.
 
HAINAN
10kg of drugs, guns seized
Police seized 10kg of drugs and arrested 13 armed drug trafficking suspects in Haikou last week, Xinhua reports. Police allege that the drugs were bought in Shenzhen and redistributed throughout Hainan . Anti-narcotics officers raided the ring’s headquarters at a small hotel in Haikou a week ago and found the drugs, mostly ketamine, and a cache of homemade guns and bullets. Police said it was the third large drugs bust in the island province since December.
40pc of power from wind
Forty per cent of Hainan’s energy production came from renewable sources last year, more than double the proportion of just a few years ago, the Hainan Daily reports. Much of the increase came from seven large wind farms that were upgraded with enormous investment by state-owned energy firms. Authorities were confident of reducing coal power generation, and expected Hainan’s first nuclear power plant, in Changjiang, to start operating this year.
 
HEBEI
Divorce plot backfires
A man from Cangzhou divorced his wife to escape traffic fines only to find out his wife really did want to dump him, Report.hebei.com.cn reports. Last June, the man drove while intoxicated and seriously injured another person. The victim then demanded damages. The man and his wife cooked up a plan where they would divorce, leaving her with the house and all the money, so he could claim that he could not pay. Last week, when he called his wife to talk about getting remarried, she said she had found a new love. He called the police, who said they could not help but told him to go to court.
Girls, 13, dies at protest
A girl, 13, died in Jinzhou after falling from a 16-storey building while trying to help her father claim unpaid wages from a construction company, the Beijing News reports. Workers who claimed they had never been paid had gathered at the site to protest their demands, when the girl and an old woman, believed to be her grandmother, were seen at the top of the building. It’s not known if the girl jumped or fell, but her body missed the giant inflatable cushion set up by police and firefighters below.
 
HUNAN
Swan numbers down
The number of migratory swans on Dongting Lake this winter has fallen to below 1,600 individuals, half the number of last year, the China News Service reports. Food shortages could be the main reason, conservation experts said. The water level in the lake dropped last year, severely affecting the birds’ main food sources. The lake lies south of the Yangtze River and covers some 200,000 hectares, making it one of China’s most important wetlands.
Popular gateway
A record 500,000 foreigners chose Hunan as their entry point to China last year, more than Anhui , Henan , Hubei , Jiangxi and Shanxi combined, the China News Service reports. By far the largest group of visitors were South Koreans, numbering more than 400,000. Overseas visitors, whose numbers grew 35 per cent from 2013, came mainly for business and tourism.
 
ZHEJIANG
Seize-the-carp day
A truck overturned near Jinhua scattering a tonne of carp across a highway, the Qianjiang Evening News reports. Passersby jumped railings to scoop up the flopping fish, only to be chased away by police who piled the fish into a nearby ditch so the owner could haul them out. The man bred the carp at his home in Jinhua and was taking them to market in Yiwu when the truck blew a tyre.
Remedy worse than cure
A 63-year-old man from Yinzhou district who ate a large fish gallbladder almost died from poisoning, the Qianjiang Evening News reports. The man believed eating the organ would improve his vision, remove toxins, and lower his blood pressure. Last week, the man bought a large fish for 190 yuan, removed the thumb-sized organ from this fish, crushed it in a bowl and swallowed it whole. Over the next two days he suffered diarrhoea and vomiting, and his stomach became swollen. A doctor who treated the man said his liver and kidneys were impaired and that his heart and nervous system would have been damaged had he not been treated in time.
 


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Around the nation: Shenyang restaurant offers winter dining in an igloo

Diners visiting a new restaurant in Shenyang, Liaoning, have a winter-only option of being serving in an igloo. The interior is heated enough to prevent diners from freezing, but not so warm to melt the surroundings. Photo: SCMP Pictures

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China Insider

Also: Man almost dies after eating giant fish gallbladder 'for his health'; Hainan produces 40pc of its power needs with renewable energy


Around the nation: Shenyang restaurant offers winter dining in an igloo

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Also: Man almost dies after eating giant fish gallbladder 'for his health'; Hainan produces 40pc of its power needs with renewable energy

Also: Man almost dies after eating giant fish gallbladder 'for his health'; Hainan produces 40pc of its power needs with renewable energy