Farmer Zhao Danian and his wife Wang Qiufeng went to Yuzhou city. There she walked into an antique shop. The shopkeeper told her the value of the porcelain vases, many of which had been found in excavations in villages. When she told him that she was from Zutong village, he told her that there were many porcelain kilns in that area in ancient times. On going home, Wang Qiufeng started looking for old kilns. Coming across some shards near two houses, she rented them for 2,000 yuan and a carton of cigarettes, and started digging. Soon she found many 1000-years-old antique vases from the Tang, Sung and Kin dynasties. She had enough to use in her kitchen; even her pigs fed out of ancient porcelain dishes. The courtyard of their cottage filled up with ancient chinaware. A policeman who was visiting the village heard about her hoard, and went to see it. He immediately arrested her and all her relatives. That was the end of that excavation.

Macau, which used to be a Portuguese enclave, is still a good place for gambling and having a good time; it was visited by 2.4 million people last year. A group of 126 Chinese tourists went there on a fully paid trip. Local tour guides took them to a beach, and then gave them a choice. Either they could pay 120 yuan and visit a casino, or pay 420 yuan and go to a cabaret. The skinflint tourists refused to opt for either; so the guides abandoned them on the beach without food or accommodation, and went off to gossip about those Scrooges from the Southwest. The tourists were disconsolately wandering around when they found the guides and the bus drivers in a coffee shop. They gave the guides a good thrashing. When the police came, the tourists beat up 10 of them.

Finally, 30 policemen had to be sent in armoured vans with shields and batons to subdue the irate pleasureseekers. It was eight hours before they were bundled up. Now the Chinese State Council is considering making a regulation on travel agents; travel agents will be forbidden to ask for more money from tourists in the middle of a tour than they had quoted, and will have to mention in their contracts the shops to which the tourists would be taken.

There were 4,000 tigers in south China in the Fifties. The demand for tiger bones amongst people wanting to boost their sexual prowess was so great, however, that the tiger became extinct in south China at least 20 years ago. But Zhou Zhenglong, a farmer and hunter in Chengguang town in Zehnping county took 71 photos of a tiger with his digital camera on October 3. He sent some to the forestry department; it gave him a prize of 20,000 yuan, and called a press conference about his adventure. Soon someone claimed that one of Zehnglong’s photos was identical with a calendar picture he had had since 2002. Another person said that the two pictures were doctored: they showed the tiger in an identical pose; only the surrounding foliage was different. Zhou was so outraged by these slurs on his honesty that he went off to the forest to take some more photographs of the tiger. He has not been seen since — which may be the final proof of the tiger’s existence.

The Chinese have picked up karaoke from the Japanese: they sing songs made popular by stars to tapes of the songs’ music recorded without the songs. The government of China does not lag behind our own in inventing new ways of collecting taxes. The government’s KTV claims copyright on every song that it broadcasts. Its National Copyright Administration collects 12 yuan (Rs 60) a night from every private room where karaoke is played. From Guangzhou province alone it is likely to collect 3 billion yuan this year. Now NCA wants to charge a further tax of 4 yuan for 25 songs sung in a private room in one evening; and if the amateur singers sing more than 25 songs, they will have to pay 12 cents for every extra song they sing. Karaoke clubs of Guangzhou are up in arms against this extortion; they want to know which part of the government is collecting these fees, what for, and what it would do with the revenue.

Everyone knows that the Chinese invented gunpowder; they still apparently carry it around in their handbags. In 2007, Beijing police seized 700 kilograms of explosives from passengers on buses and trains. Many were also caught carrying wall paint and industrial alcohol. The police consider this very dangerous. The Beijing underground is powered by a 1 kW current; if a power cable comes in contact with such flammable material, there would be a huge explosion. If any more are caught with gunpowder, they will be jailed for five to 15 days.

Chongqing municipality in southwest China has installed 700 GPS cameras in taxis. If taxi drivers are rude, or overcharge, or refuse to carry passengers, the cameras will immediately transmit evidence to the municipal office. It will also be able to spot criminals who use the taxis. But one lady was worried about what would happen in summer when women wear skimpy clothes: would the cameras transmit revealing photographs? Young people were also worried that their intimacies would be recorded in the municipal office. China being the ultimate capitalist state, videos of couples cavorting in taxis may soon be on sale everywhere.

Wu Tianxi is the richest man in Zhenping County. He has a food factory, and has been a member of parliament and of the local assembly. Now he is 61, and has been worried about his failing health and wealth. To get out of his troubles, he began to have sex with girls under sixteen. He may have recovered his health. But now he is being tried for having slept with 36 underage girls.

It is not known whether Wu Tianxi tried ant powder. In 1999, Wang Fengyou set up a company called Yilishen in Shenyang. He said he had invented a process to extract a powder called polyrhachis vicina Roger from ants which could be used to make virility boosters, beauty products, sleeping pills and so on. He invited farmers to supply him with ants. He also invited savers to invest in his company, and said that for every investment of 10,000 yuan, 13,250 yuan would be returned 14 months later.

To promote his scheme, Wang engaged Zhao Benshan, the famous comic who has acted in such famous shows as Today, Tomorrow, Red Sorghum Model Team, and Selling Crutches. Wang registered 1.1 million farmers, and collected 20 billion yuan. This summer, the Liaoning government asked him to make a gift of 2.1 billion yuan for infrastructure for the Olympic games. Wang said he could not pay so much; he offered 900 million yuan. Even that proved too much; recently he went bankrupt. Thousands of depositors rioted in Liaoning; 1,000 riot police had to be brought in to control them.

A dog who helped his master sell sausages has been runner-up in the Most Moving Animal Contest.