Pressure of school stresses out students

A 17-year-old school pupil surnamed Zhao from Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, has been diagnosed with high blood pressure.

His doctor initially thought he might have problems with his heart or kidneys, but eventually found he suffers from mental exhaustion.

Statistics show nearly 4 per cent of Chinese students aged between 16 and 20 have suffered the same symptoms.

Hangzhou Daily

Farmer surprised by arrival of wild swans

A geese farm in Wuwei County of Anhui Province has unexpectedly become home to six wild black swans flying from the northwest.

The uninvited birds soon settled down on the farm and got along well with the resident geese.

In the winter of 2000, about 20 swans arrived at the farm, and did not leave until spring approached.

Hefei Evening News

Smart students crowned 'national brains'

A pair of university students from Guangzhou have won honorary titles in the first session of the National Brain competition held in Shanghai.

Guo Chuanwei and Che Weijian impressed everyone by memorizing 220 figures in five minutes and remembering the names and faces of 76 strangers in 15 minutes.

They attended a memory training course for more than a year before taking part.

Yangcheng Evening News

Four bundles of fun for farming couple

A 30-year-old farmer from Xiaoxian County, Anhui Province recently gave birth to four babies two boys and two girls.

The healthy babies weigh 2.35, 2.3, 2 and 1.3 kilograms.

Their father was initially overjoyed, but he has his concerns: "I wonder how I can support these four children. I feel worried about medical fees and all the expenses for these four."

Anhui Market News

Career woman quits to bake cakes

A well-educated woman from Taiwan recently packed in her high-flying career to work in her husband's cake shop.

Zeng Linghan's hubby is younger than her and has a less illustrious educational background.

She decided to quit her job at an IT company to share happiness and woes with him, she said.

Phoenix TV

Migrant gets cold feet after killing colleague

Lian Chuanyue, a desperate migrant worker in Xiamen, Fujian Province killed a colleague surnamed Yang while he slept because he wanted a friend in the afterlife.

But soon after Lian had murdered his workmate he decided not to kill himself, then lied to police, saying poor old Yang was killed by someone else.

Lian was diagnosed with depression and sentenced to the death penalty with a two-year reprieve.

CCTV News

(China Daily 10/28/2005 page5)