bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Laura Zhou

HUBEI
Raining pennies
Workers at Guiyuan Temple in Wuhan strapped on helmets as worshippers tossed a shower of coins at the main shrine on Monday, the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, which marks the visit of the God of Wealth, Chinanews.com reports. Throwing coins at the shrine is believed to bring good fortune in the year ahead.
Boy at the wheel
A boy aged about five was photographed gripping the steering wheel of a car being driven along a street in Wuhan on Tuesday, as his parents sat calmly beside him, the Yangtse River Daily reports. The photographer said the car was travelling at about 50km/h, although very few vehicles were on the street at the time. Police said parents who let minors drive would be prosecuted.
 
BEIJING
Trial for pop star
Popular singer Yin Xiangjie will stand trial tomorrow morning in Chaoyang district court for drug possession, the Beijing Youth Daily reports. Yin, a former anti-drugs ambassador for Beijing, is the latest mainland celebrity prosecuted for drug-related offences. He was detained in late December after 15 grams of various drugs were seized at this home. He faces up to seven years in prison and fines if convicted.
Freebies for green cars
The municipal government is considering granting free parking to and waiving highway tolls for owners of renewable energy vehicles this year as a part of the city's ambitious efforts to tackle air pollution, The Beijing News reports. About 150,000 new cars would hit the city's roads this year, including 30,000 that ran on renewable energy, the report said.
 
CHONGQING
Grandparents cause split
A couple filed for divorce on Wednesday after their own parents argued over taking care of their four-month-old grandson, the Chongqing Evening News reports. The couple told the judge that the wife's mother, who had been taking care of the child since he was born, refused to give the grandson to the husband's parents during the Lunar New Year. Their divorce application was rejected because the child was less than a year old, and the couple agreed to settle the dispute.
Costly dinner surprise
A 31-year-old woman was informed by her bank that three unauthorised purchases were made on her credit card while she was having a Lunar New Year family dinner, the Chongqing Evening News reports. The transactions, totalling about 13,000 yuan (HK$16,400), were made in Bangladesh for three air tickets. Police said her credit card data may have been leaked when she travelled abroad, according to the report.
 
JIANGSU
Ins and outs of marriage
In all, 124 couples tied the knot while 111 couples filed for divorce in Nanjing on Wednesday, the first working day after the Lunar New Year holiday, the Modern Express reports. Civil affairs officials said the divorce rate was higher than on normal days, and that people might have decided to make a new start after the break, according to the report.
Poodle in lab
A doctor was criticised by hospital management after she was photographed taking a dog to a hospital laboratory in Liyang on Sunday, the Modern Express reports. Photos circulated online showing a white poodle sitting on a chair behind a woman doctor as she worked. The doctor explained the dog was with her husband when he brought her dinner that day, and stayed in the lab for a few minutes.
 
SHAANXI
Mum loses daughter
A mother in a hurry to get home to prepare dinner on Lunar New Year's Eve found her daughter was missing from the bike seat after a 30-minute ride in Xian on Wednesday, Sanqin.com reports. The mother, who retraced her journey along the same route without finding the child, reported the incident to the police. The little girl, who was already safely in their care, told officers that she fell off the back of the bike but her mother rode away too quickly to notice. She was taken to the police station by a shopping mall security guard.
On the beat
Xian police have detained a man suspected of stealing a smartphone at the city's famous Drum and Bell Tower Square tourist site on Tuesday night as the district's police chief was inspecting the area, the Huashang Daily reports. The phone, which was worth 2,700 yuan, was returned to the owner, the report said.
 
SHANDONG
Driver faces suspension
A bus driver faces a possible suspension of his licence after police found 54 passengers squeezed into his 34-seat minibus at a checkpoint in Jinan on Tuesday, news portal dzwww.com reports. The driver was fined 2,000 yuan and 12 demerit points, which means he may only be able to drive a car, but not a bus or other small vehicles, in future.
Boy drinks herbicide
A 15-year-old boy in Jinan remains in critical condition after accidentally drinking herbicide, Xinhuanet.com reports. The severely near-sighted boy mistakenly drank the toxic liquid, thinking it was a bottled drink, on Sunday night. He was rushed to hospital and was being closely monitored, the report said.
 
XINJIANG
Quake in far west
A magnitude 5 earthquake that struck mountainous Shawan county west of the capital Urumqi on Sunday damaged 1,728 houses, Xinhuanet.com reports. Local government officials said more than 6,700 people were affected but no deaths or injuries were reported.
Ancient city found
Archeologists in the remote city of Kashgar have unearthed traces of an ancient city that is probably the oldest in the region, the Guangming Daily reports. The ruins were discovered near a riverbank in Shache county. The remains suggest that the settlement might have been built during the Neolithic or Bronze ages and covered an area of about one hectare.
 
ZHEJIANG
Smart thief just a mug
A 40-year-old man with a master's degree and a decent job has confessed to stealing on four occasions from a Starbuck's coffee shop in Hangzhou since December because he had to wait too long at the checkout, the Today Morning Express reports. The man, who described himself as a "Starbucks fanatic" who had collected more than 100 Starbucks mugs, told police he stole two mugs, a bag of coffee beans and a notebook from the same shop.
New foreign schools
Two international boarding schools for foreign children are expected to open this year in Hangzhou in addition to the two foreign schools already operating in this city of 2.5 million people, southeast of Shanghai, Zjol.com reports. Two hundred students are expected to be admitted to the new schools this year. At present, 518 students from 40 countries study at the city's two foreign schools, one offering an English curriculum, and the other Japanese.


Silver lining in China’s ageing population shouldn’t be overlooked

China wife of gay husband contests estate against his lover and parents after man’s death

Pursuit of hoppiness: why China’s cash-conscious drinkers have embraced craft beers

Why Chinese women like me are done being quiet and ‘appropriate’

China society

Around the nation: Temple staff don helmets as it rains pennies to the God of Wealth

Workers at Wuhan's Guiyuan Temple in Wuhan don helmets as worshippers showered coins on the God of Wealth. Photo: SCMP Pictures

News

China Insider

Also: Highly educated coffee shop thief is a real mug; Marriages barely outnumber divorces in Nanjing on first working day of Lunar New Year


Around the nation: Temple staff don helmets as it rains pennies to the God of Wealth

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Also: Highly educated coffee shop thief is a real mug; Marriages barely outnumber divorces in Nanjing on first working day of Lunar New Year

Also: Highly educated coffee shop thief is a real mug; Marriages barely outnumber divorces in Nanjing on first working day of Lunar New Year