appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Mandy Zuo

GANSU
Holiday boost for sales
Sales of consumer goods totalled 1.7 billion yuan (HK$2.09 billion) for the week-long Lunar New Year holiday in Lanzhou, a 21 per cent increase from the holiday last year, Xinhua reports, citing figures from the municipal commerce bureau. About 300 million yuan of the total went to the catering industry, or 10 per cent more than a year ago.
Man stabbed to death
Lanzhou police have detained a man in connection with the stabbing death of another during a Lunar New Year's Eve dispute outside a bar in the city, the Lanzhou Morning Post reports. Police said the victim and his three friends had argued over a trivial matter with the suspect and four of his friends. The victim suffered several knife wounds and died in hospital.
GUANGDONG
183m yuan lotto win
A Guangdong resident has won 183 million yuan in a national lottery - the country's third-largest payout ever, the Guangzhou Daily reports. The winner's hometown was not given. The nation's largest lottery jackpot ever was 256 million yuan, won by a resident of Suzhou, Jiangsu, and the second-largest was 248 million, won by a resident of Wuhan, Hubei.
'No bird flu' amid duck cull
All of the 30,000 ducks being raised on the border of two towns in Lianjiang were culled on Saturday after 2,000 died of bacterial infection during the Lunar New Year holiday, the Yangcheng Evening News reports. Authorities ruled out the possibility of bird flu.
HAINAN
No holiday for home sales
More than 350 homes were sold in Sanya during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, and the total accounted for 90 per cent of all such property sold in the province during that period, the local International Tourism Island Business Daily reports.
Tourism nets major gains
The island province's tourism industry brought in an estimated 5.7 billion yuan during the holiday week, or a 32 per cent increase from the holiday last year, the Hainan Special Zone News reports, citing official figures provided by the provincial tourism committee on Saturday. Additionally, more than 1.9 million people visited the island for the holiday, a 40 per cent rise on last year.
HUBEI
Phone details made public
The entire district-level government of Huangpi, Wuhan, released the cellphone numbers of 143 officials this month, to make it easier for the public to provide feedback on government services, the Wuhan Evening News reports. The list, posted on the district government's website, includes the numbers for all local cadres, from the district chief to the community directors.
Trio killed amid road row
Three people were killed by a truck while arguing in the middle of a road in Jingshan county, Jingmen, on February 7, the Wuhan Morning Post reports. The driver fled and was caught two days later in Liaoning province. Icy road conditions had caused a minor two-car accident involving the three people who were arguing, and police said the truck driver hit them when he lost control on the ice.
JIANGXI
Industrial workers quit
Seven industrial parks in Nanchang city are facing a shortage of 420,000 workers, after many quit their jobs before the start of the Lunar New Year, the Jiangnan City Daily reports. The average monthly salary for workers at the parks is 2,015 yuan, while nearly all of the positions pay more than 1,800 yuan a month. It was unclear how many workers remained on the job.
Professor dies in plunge
A philosophy professor at Jiangxi Normal University died after falling from the 17th floor of a residential building in Nanchang yesterday morning, the Jiangxi Daily reports. Police were investigating the incident.
SHAANXI
Billboard kills migrant
A 28-year-old migrant worker died when a billboard fell on him after it was knocked down by an oversized truck in suburban Xian on Saturday, the Huashang Daily reports. Witnesses said the truck was hauling a large excavator and hit the 1.2-metre by 30-metre sign, which crushed the passer-by. The truck driver fled on foot and was still on the run yesterday.
New subway work to start
Xian will start building a subway line between Baqiao and Lintong districts later this year, at a cost of about 13 billion yuan, the Huashang Daily reports. The 23-kilometre line will feature 13 stations, including popular tourist spots such as Huaqing Hot Springs and Li Mountain.
SHANGHAI
Luxury home claim denied
The Shanghai government yesterday denied a microblog post made on Saturday claiming that an official with the city's Pudong New Area owned a "2,600-square-metre luxury home", the online version of the People's Daily reports. The government said the head of the Pudong district government had only built a 300-square-metre home on his own land in a village in Chongming county.
School clothes factory shut
A clothing factory in the Pudong New Area that supplies school uniforms for several schools has been shut down after six of 22 batches of clothing failed a recent quality spot check by local safety inspectors, who also found a cancer-causing chemical on one uniform, Xinmin.cn reports. Local authorities said the factory failed all four quality checks conducted in the past three years, but it was unclear why the factory was previously allowed to remain open.
SICHUAN
Shop owner set on fire
A man was doused with petrol and set on fire on a street in Mianyang on Saturday, the Chengdu Economic Daily reports. The attacker, who fled the scene immediately, was later detained by police. Two passing bus drivers stopped and used their buses' fire extinguishers to put out the fire. The victim, a shop owner, had had a row with the suspect.
Thousands of drivers fined
Traffic police issued citations and fines to more than 2,000 drivers whose vehicles were parked on highway emergency lanes in the province during the Lunar New Year holiday week, the Chengdu Economic Daily reports. The violations, which occurred during heavy traffic jams, accounted for 80 per cent of all traffic violations during the holiday, police said.
ZHEJIANG
Hit-and-run suspect held
Police in Lishui city are investigating the hit-and-run death of a 21-year-old university student on Wednesday, China News Service reports. A witness said the victim was hit on a pedestrian crossing, and the driver sped off. Police said the suspect may have been drunk and tried to get a scapegoat to take his place, but he ended up turning himself in the next day.
Rat in gas blast threat
More than 60 people were evacuated from a residential building in Ningbo on Saturday after rats chewed through an apartment's gas line, Xinhua reports. There could have been serious damage if the gas had ignited, officials said.


China Digest, February 18, 2013

News

China

Sales of consumer goods totalled 1.7 billion yuan (HK$2.09 billion) for the week-long Lunar New Year holiday in Lanzhou, a 21 per cent increase from the holiday last year, Xinhua reports, citing figures from the municipal commerce bureau.
