Quirky China: student loses ID in toilet before university exam, school teaches water safety with fish and good luck banner scandal
- A lucky student was able to sit his university entrance exam after losing his ID card in a toilet right before it started thanks to the help of a police officer
- A banner wishing students sitting university entrance exams good luck made by prison sparks local controversy
A student who lost his ID card in a flushing toilet bowl right before the start of his university entrance exam was saved by a kind police officer, the Beijing Evening News reported.
Thanks to the help of the police officer, the student at the No. 3 Middle School in Luoyang, Henan province, central China, was able to get a replacement document proving his ID in just five minutes.
The officer drove the student on the back of his motorcycle to the nearest police station to apply for the document before taking him back to school so he could sit the exam on time.
Stressful incidents like this are not uncommon in China every year when the notoriously difficult one-size-fits-all university entrance exam, known as the gaokao, is held.
On the same day, in Yunnan province, southwestern China, another student also lost his ID card in a sewer after it fell through a crack in a tile. Several officials worked together to lever the heavy tile to retrieve the ID card and returned it to the student just 15 minutes before the exam’s start time.
Temporary fish pond teaches kids about water safety
A Chinese kindergarten has won praise on mainland Chinese social media after building a simple swimming pool to let children catch fish and learn about water safety.
The swimming pool was made using a large piece of waterproof cloth and erected in a square at Feixiang Kindergarten in Suzhou, Anhui province, southeastern China, news site Bailu Video reported.
The kindergarten bought the fish and let its 450 pupils play in batches trying to catch them in the pool earlier this week, which was filmed and uploaded online.
A teacher, surnamed Wang, said she gave the children drowning prevention lessons as they were playing in the temporary shallow pool.
“Even I want to play, let alone the kids,” wrote one person on Douyin, the mainland version of the short video platform TikTok.
“It’s such a wonderful activity. The kindergarten ensures the kids’ safety, and what’s more, provides them with a chance to experience the joy of playing in nature,” another person wrote.
Good luck banner creates bad feeling
A banner hung in a street in Tengzhou in Shandong province, eastern China, wishing students attending China’s college entrance exam this week good luck has become a source of controversy because it was made by a local prison.
An online video showing the banner with the words: “Tengzhou Prison wishes all students get enrolled at top universities” has been viewed nine million times on Douyin at the time of writing, the South China Morning Post found.
Some were critical and said it was not appropriate for a prison to send well wishes because it was not auspicious.
“Does it imply that anyone who cheats on the test will go to jail?” asked one person on Douyin.
However, others thought it was fine. “It’s just a blessing. Those who don’t like it are too sensitive,” said one person online.
An official from the prison said they did not feel there was anything wrong with the banner.
“The banner was unfolded at a temporary serving centre for police officers who patrol around exam sites across the city. Parents can also have a rest and get some water at the centre,” the official told the news site Jiupai News.
