BEIJING

Publisher sentenced

A man was sentenced in Chaoyang district to two years in jail for illegally printing and selling 70,000 copies of a magazine he called Beijing Life between July 2009 and February 2012, Chinaxwcb.com [1] reports. The free magazine was funded by advertising.

No to 'baby' fruit

A local supermarket has pulled baby-shaped pears from shelves after pictures of the produce went viral online and sparked a backlash from consumers, the Beijing Morning Post reports. Fruit growers put specially designed moulds of sleeping babies around the growing pears, but many people baulked at the idea of eating food that looked like an infant. The pears were sold at a Sam's Club supermarket for 20 yuan (HK$25) a pair.

GUANGDONG

Cars overtake Shenzhen

There are about 2.25 million registered cars in Shenzhen - the densest concentration on the mainland, with more than 1,000 vehicles per square kilometre, the Shenzhen Evening News reports. The city is facing mounting pollution and traffic problems, but the city said it had no plan to restrict car purchases. In 2007, the city had about 1 million vehicles. There were 1.5 million in 2010 and 2 million in February last year.

Bridge protest foiled

A 43-year-old man threatened to jump off the massive Liede Bridge in Guangzhou on Monday morning in an attempt to gain public support after his home was demolished in Hunan province, the Guangzhou Daily reports. The man was taken away at 8.30pm, about 12 hours after he scaled the 4.3-kilometre-long bridge. He said the compensation for razing his home was inadequate.

HENAN

Toxic salt in hospital

A canteen manager at the People's Hospital of Anyang has been detained after dangerous industrial salt was found in meals for hospital patients, Dahe.cn [2] reports. Investigators also seized more than 30 kilograms of the salt, which the man purchased for much cheaper than edible table salt. There was no mention of any patients becoming ill from the tainted food .

Police end store drama

A crazed man was detained on Monday night after rushing into a Zhengzhou convenience store and using two kitchen knives to take a woman hostage, Dahe.cn [2] reports. The incident began at about 5pm. Police were able to subdue the man after four hours of negotiations. His wife and mother were also brought to the scene. The man's motive was not given.

HUBEI

Jail for online swindler

A man has been sentenced to five years in jail in Shijiazhuang for swindling more than 150,000 yuan from four women he dated, the Yanzhou Evening News reports. The man, who pretended to be a professor with a PhD, had been finding the women on dating websites since November 2010. They believed he wanted to marry them.

Trees for dust defence

The provincial government has vowed to plant at least 100 million saplings across Hubei this year to help curb sandstorms there and in other regions such as Beijing, Xinhua reports. Residents are encouraged to plant trees in residential communities across the province. By 2015, the province expects to have 5.8 million hectares of forest planted, or 31 per cent of Hubei.

SHANDONG

Catchers fly the coup

About a dozen people captured more than 140 cats and nearly 100 sparrows across Zibo city from Wednesday last week and kept them in cages behind a small hotel before police discovered the activity on Monday. But all of the suspects escaped, Lznews.cn [3] reports. The group checked into the hotel on March 6. They slept by day and caught the animals at night. It was unclear what they had planned for the animals.

Seven dead in crash

Seven people died and 11 were injured in a road accident on Sunday in Yantai , Xinhua reports. A coach carrying 20 passengers crashed head-on into a light truck on National Highway 204 that runs from Shandong to Shanghai.

SHANGHAI

Tyre slashing mystery

The tyres of about 30 vehicles were punctured on Monday night in a residential community car park in Minhang district, the Xinmin Evening News reports. It was the second such incident in the area this month.

Slogans to sort by

The municipal government launched a slogan-creation contest on Monday to raise awareness of sorting rubbish, the Shanghai Youth Daily reports. The contest ends on March 31 and there will be prizes of up to 5,000 yuan.

XINJIANG

Quake jolts far west

A magnitude-5.2 earthquake shook western Xinjiang on Monday morning, destroying six unoccupied homes at the epicentre in Kizilsu Kirghiz autonomous prefecture, Xinhua reports. No injuries were reported, but some 500 students were evacuated from a school after cracks appeared in walls .

Licorice thieves licked

Police caught 35 people digging licorice plants in Wensu county, Akesu , yesterday, Ts.cn [4] reports. The illegal harvest severely damaged several square metres of plants. Police said the plant could fetch about 5 yuan per kilogram, and the group collected just 30 kilograms.

YUNNAN

Professor 'beat woman'

A 46-year-old university professor has been detained by Kunming police for drunkenly beating up a 77-year-old woman, Yunnan.cn [5] reports. The man arrived home on Friday night and told his wife that he had been mugged in their residential complex. She called police, who discovered that the drunk man initially went to the wrong apartment, on the building's fifth floor, instead of the third floor where he lives. He was surprised to find the elderly woman there and attacked her. He claimed to not remember the incident, but it was recorded by video surveillance.

Blaze destroys stalls

A fire destroyed more than 100 small souvenir stands along a street in Lijiang city on Monday night, People.com.cn [6] reports. The fire started around 8.30 and engulfed more than 2,200 square metres of shop space before it was brought under control after three hours. No injuries were reported.

ZHEJIANG

A prized job

Hangzhou launched a recruitment drive on Monday to find a foreigner to work as a tourism ambassador for the city, with an annual contract worth 40,000 euros (HK$404,000), the Qianjiang Evening News reports. The winner will host a government-funded video next year promoting Hangzhou and must further promote the city through online social media.

Phone snatchers seized

Five people have been arrested in Hangzhou stealing more than 20 mobile phones, worth at least 80,000 yuan, at subway stations in Nanjing , Shanghai and Hangzhou, the Daily Business News reports. The thefts occurred between December and March 6, and people were usually targeted as they listened to music while waiting for trains.