Odd News
Mr. Wang's tenure working at the Xingfu Meilin manmade lake in Sanshengxiang did not last long. But when his boss fired him in May 2009, his resentment did. On the night of February 14, after nearly a year of plotting and biding his time, Mr. Wang snuck back to the lake, swam across it, broke the glass to get into the control room, and opened the water gate. One hundred thousand fish escaped from the artificial lake. A few days later, Mr. Wang was arrested in Jiujiang for causing an estimated RMB30,000 in damages—just over three jiao per fish.

Who ever said that the Jinjiang District Public Security Bureau doesn't "take care of its own"? The office held a singles party for all of Chengdu's single police officers at the Chengdu Panda Base the Sunday before last.

Amid the rising fame of route No. 78 bus driver Lai Xiaogang, who gained a loyal following by giving umbrellas to his passengers when it rained, the city has outfitted all 59 vehicles that run route 78 with a pair of umbrellas. How many of them are expected to come back after being handed out was not disclosed. Recently, many riders have begun waiting specifically for Lai, whom they have dubbed "Umbrella Brother."

Headlines
As if hotpot restaurants haven't gained enough infamy recently, a hotpot restaurant owner in Luding County was arrested for poisoning his entire staff with rat poison two Thursdays ago. Twenty-four people were sent to the hospital, but fortunately no one died.

On the eve of Chinese New Year, a gambler in Bazhong stabbed his wife before throwing her out of a second-story window, sending her into a coma. Forty-five days later, she woke up—to the astonishment of her doctor, who said it was a miracle she regained consciousness, let alone the ability to speak.

Yang Hong, 25, committed suicide by jumping from the seventh floor after breaking up with her girlfriend last Tuesday.

Two more suicides occurred within two days of each other on the campus of Chengdu University of Technology two weeks ago (April 9 and 11). In both cases, the boys were found dead in their dormitories; one had written a suicide note on his computer.

A man killed his sister and then promptly committed suicide in the middle of Yingkang Xi Road last Saturday.

A wall under construction in Tianfu Dadao collapsed last Thursday evening, burying 11 workers and killing three of them.

Speaking of urban avalanches, a car was buried under a mountain of coal when it crashed into a coal truck in Pengzhou's Aoping Town last Thursday morning. Two of the four passengers were killed.

A bus driving route No. 70 spontaneously combusted on Changshun Xia Street last Wednesday morning. Fortunately, no one was injured.

Spontaneous combustion struck again on the 3rd Ring Road Lantian Flyover when a car burst into flames last Thursday afternoon, killing the driver. Police are still investigating the cause.

A dead man's body seemingly languished for seven days in his car on Yongkang Xi Road in Chongzhou before finally being spotted last Saturday. Local police are still investigating.

An electrical appliance and furniture warehouse in Erxianqiao's Balizhuang burst into flames on the evening of April 11. It took 16 water pumps five hours to extinguish the inferno.

To finish off another week of fire, a fire broke out in a wood factory (go figure!) on Wenchang Xi Road in Wuhou District early last Wednesday morning.

A large snowstorm engulfed Guangyuan last Wednesday: another sign that spring has been unusually cold this year in Sichuan.

Construction & Development
The first high-end recording studio in Southwest China recently opened at Chengdu University of Technology. Sichuan-based musicians can now make professional recordings without traveling to another province.

Jianmenguan, location of the famous Battle of Jianmenguan Pass, will reopen as a tourist site on May 1. The site closed for reconstruction a year and a half ago, following damage caused by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake.

With the impending Shanghai Expo, the frequency of flights from Yibin to Shanghai is going to be increased from the usual two times a week to every day starting from April 27.

Drivers who frequent the road between Chengdu and Jiuzhaigou will be pleased to learn that, beginning this year, a new high-speed road will soon link Minyang and Jiuzhaigou, cutting the driving time down to three-and-a-half hours when it is finished. Another high-speed road project will also get underway this year between Jiuzhaigou and Wenchuan.

Several families of resin-based animal statues—including elephants and giraffes—have appeared on the grass strips that line Chenglong Road in southeast Chengdu. Requiring eight trucks to move, the statues were installed to give the area a more "natural" ambience.

Compiled by Marvin Tan

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