Inaugural pagoda flower festival breaks records

Local farmers used the pagoda flower to make hundreds of foods to welcome visitors to the inaugural festival of the pagoda tree flower in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province over the weekend.

Farmers traditionally make food from the flower in late spring and the festival was held for the first time in a forest park in the eastern suburb of the city.

More than 1,000 tourists from all over the country enjoyed the fare and local sponsors said the banquet would be a record and that they would report it to the world Guinness records.

(Sanqin Daily)

Lie detector test reveals real driver in fatal crash

A lie detector test helped traffic policemen in Chongqing municipality to solve a recent case.

On May 20, last year, a truck fell 38.5 m from a cliff top, killing one man and injuring two others.

The dead man, Zhang Hua, owned the truck and had rented it out to the other two, Chen Jiang and Li Mei. After the accident, Chen and Li told police that Zhang caused the accident when he deliberately drove the vehicle off the precipice in attempt to gain compensation from his insurance company.

Later, traffic police used a lie detector test on Chen and Li to determine Chen was in fact driving at the time of the accident.

(Chongqing Times)

Young Samaritan returns lost 20,000 yuan

He Haiyang, a grade four pupil in a primary school in Chongqing municipality, returned more than 20,000 yuan ($2,900) to the owner who lost his bag in a restaurant last Saturday.

That afternoon, He and his parents enjoyed a meal in the restaurant and found the large sum of money and nine bank cards in a black bag next to their table. From a piece of paper in the bag they got a phone number and contacted the distressed owner.

He returned the bag and refused money the owner tried to give him as a debt of gratitude.

(Chongqing Morning News)

(China Daily 05/10/2008 page3)