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Dozens of storeys of the more than 656-foot China Telecom (0728.HK) building “burned with great intensity,” sending thick smoke into the sky, state broadcaster CCTV said. The fire has been put out, but casualty numbers are not known yet, it reported.

The silent ceramic objects that survive from medieval Indian Ocean trade carry incredible stories of a time when South Asia had the upper hand over China...In the 830s CE, a ship tried to make a daring crossing. Navigating treacherous reefs and shoals, it was attempting to move from the South China Sea to the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. After a brief stop there, it intended to catch the monsoon winds to India. This attempt failed, and the ship’s contents — ranging from marvellously carved golden plates to glazed ceramics, from a diplomat’s ink-stone to a small toy dog...

The beef restaurant in the city of Changsha placed two large scales at its entrance this week. It then asked diners to enter their measurements into an app that would then suggest menu items accordingly. Signs reading "be thrifty and diligent, promote empty plates" and "operation empty plate" were pinned up. ... implementing a system where groups have to order one dish fewer than the number of diners.Homer Simpson

A Chinese man who was dating 17 women at once has been found out after his girlfriends turned up to visit him in hospital following a car crash. The man, surnamed Yuan, from the city of Changsha in Hunan province, had been dating all the women at the same time, and even had a child with one, state media reports. His luck ran out when hospital staff began contacting his loved ones in the wake of his accident.

Cows Grazing on Garbage Dump In Changsha, Hunan It has been going on for quite a while. Some of them have been already slaughtered and sold at the market. Reportedly, it tastes little sour, according to some local.

BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Residents in Changsha, Capital of central China's Hunan Province have enjoyed the golden opportunity to see an atmospheric wonder: a solar halo. Yesterday, the sun was wrapped by a grey and black band and the sight looked more beautiful as colorful rings appeared outside the ring. The spectacular sight lasted three and half hours in the city. Meteorological experts make it clear the solar halo can not foretell good or ill luck since it is only an atmospheric phenomenon. Solar halos indicate the increase of steam and the coming of low pressure. (CRIENGLISH.com)

  Source:  Xinhua News Agency Date:  07/01/2002 03:10 Document ID:  FA20020701790000020 Subject(s):  XIN; Buddhist; Local; Water     Ancient meditation cave discovered in north China Story Filed: Monday, July 01, 2002 3:10 AM EST SHIJIAZHUANG, Jul 1, 2002 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- A mysterious and previously inaccessible cave in Fengning Manchu Autonomous County, in north China's Hebei Province, s now thought to be an ancient place of meditation for Buddhist monks. The cave is located on Mount Lama, 30 kilometers northwest of the county proper of Fengning. According to historical records, for more than 500 years, local people could see only...

10,000 ancient bamboo Documents ("Slips") unearthed in Hunan Story Filed: Monday, July 01, 2002 2:49 AM EST CHANGSHA, Jul 1, 2002 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- More than 10,000 bamboo slips dating from the Warring States period (BC.476-BC.221) have been unearthed from an historic site in central China's Hunan province. Gao Chongwen, director of the archaeological institute of Beijing University, said the find was the largest of its kind and would offer more clues for archaeological research. Chinese archaeologists discovered the slips in a 16-meter deep well in an ancient city which was located at Liye village, Longshan county in Hunan,...