Tomb Sweeping Day sees 9.38 million trips being made by trains all across the country, two are sentenced to death for poisoning kindergarten girls, a man has been sent to prison for buying a dead tiger.

Fire in Yunnan's ancient city

About 10 stores were gutted by fire early Sunday morning in Shuhe Street, Old City district, Li Jiang city, Yunnan province, according to the Publicity department of the Old city district. Firefighters were able to douse the blaze after an hour and a half and investigation into the cause of the incident is underway.

 

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Beauty-killers still seen at tourist sites

Tourist sites around the country witness a surge in visitors during the Qingming Festival. However, there are still some people who climb onto the cultural relics to take photos, or doodle on them or litter wherever they want, Beijing Morning Post reported.

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Record train trips on holiday

About 9.38 million trips were made by trains all across the country on Saturday,, the Tomb Sweeping Day, setting a new record. Train journeys rose by 12.8 percent compared to last year's Tomb Sweeping Day, said the China Railway Corporation on Sunday. To cope with rising demand, authorities added 328 temporary trains on Saturday.

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Affordable housing boost

Central government plans to spend 115.8 billion yuan ($18.7 billion) on affordable housing this year, the 21st Century Business Herald reported on Sunday. The special fund includes subsidies for low-rent housing, public rental departments and shantytown renovation. The amount is an increase of 14.3 percent from the money channeled to these programs last year.

Power plant report refuted

Yiyang city government, Hunan province, on Sunday denied media reports that construction of the Taohuajiang Nuclear Power Plant - considered China's first inland nuclear power project - will start soon. On Saturday, local media reported that the plant had completed all preparation work and will begin construction work. China National Nuclear Corp clarified on its website that preparations were ongoing.

 

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Two sentenced to death over poisoning

Kindergarten headmaster and another man were sentenced to death on Friday after being found guilty of poisoning two girls. The kindergarten head, upset that a rival school had better enrolment figures, injected rat poison into a bottle of yogurt. He then asked his accomplice to place it on the road outside the rival establishment in late April 2013, according to Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court.

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Tiger smuggler sent to prison

Tiger smuggler has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for illegally purchasing an endangered species, Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday. The man, surnamed Wang, 31, a native of Jiangxi province, was caught on Jan 8 while buying the dead tiger from another man surnamed Yang for 250,000 yuan ($40,300) on Jan 8 in downtown Wenzhou, Zhejiang province. Yang is awaiting trial on the same charges.

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Official under probe over woman's death

Police in Sanming, Fujian province, are investigating a district head after an incident in which a female teacher died. The 50-year-old woman, surnamed Wang, arrived at the office of Liu Zhenxing, head of Meilie district, on Thursday afternoon. She had earlier told the city's disciplinary watchdog that she had been in a relationship with Liu for 10 years, and had also reported a number of "economic problems", according to local media reports. Wang fell from Liu's 12th-floor office some hours after arriving. Liu has been suspended from his position.