Trending news across China on Oct 19

Kindergarten stops military training for kids, senior Beijing street cleaner speaks fluent English, woman quits job for cancer-stricken father’s dream of nation tour – it’s all trending across China.

The latest green vehicle

Photo by Wang Xiao/For China Daily

A guard working in the area said he always thought this was just some greenery - a photo of a minivan covered by tangled vines with only the car plate exposed went viral online, as users on a Chinese social networking site joked it’s “a zombie tree with great camouflage techniques”. The vehicle has been parked at a residential community in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, for more than one year.

Real English fan

A video of an elderly man, who works sweeping the streets in Beijing, speaking in fluent English caused an online sensation. A foreign visitor who randomly asked street directions from him was amazed by his English and shot the video, in which the elder said he “not only learned English but also their civilization, and have read “Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth.” Li Jingang, 56, said he was once an English teacher in Shandong province, and has worked in Beijing since September, 2013.

Kindergarten Military Drill

A kindergarten has suspended military training for its 86 5-6 years old kids, under the order of local authorities from the education bureau, Chutian Times reported Friday. The kindergarten in Huanggang city of Hubei province, named Harvard Kindergarten, started the training on Sept 14. Children participating learned how to use firefighting tools and did physical exercises.

Leaders' animation

A five-minute animation featuring stories about Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron has surprised Internet users. The video about how state leaders make it to the top was uploaded online on Monday and has been viewed nearly 1.5 million times on Youku, one of the most popular Chinese video websites.

Dutiful Daughter

A woman from Central China’s Hubei province resigned her job to take her nearly 80-year-old cancer-afflicted father to tour Beijing, CNR reported. Hu Xueying, 28, took her father to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall at Badaling using a wheelchair, all the places her father had dreamed of visiting. Every time they changed a means of transport, the woman, weighing more than 40 kg, lifted up her father. Toilet problems and difficulties in hiring taxis constantly emerged. The girl spent her wedding reception savings for this trip, wishing to fulfill her father’s last dream.

Dish-serving school president

Ren Jichang, president of the Wenlan High School in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, has been serving up dishes during meal time at the school’s dining hall since 2004. The kindly gesture has received praise and respect from students and parents, Southern Metropolis Daily reported.

Baby-for-iPhone craziness

A young couple in Shanghai has been charged with child trafficking after they illegally sold an infant daughter – their third child – on the Internet in May. Bank record shows the pair – both in their 20s and jobless – used the transaction money to buy an iPhone and some high-end sneakers.

Community targeted?

More than a few residents in a community in Chengdu, Sichuan province have reported bullet holes on windows in their apartments on Thursday. The shots – which were found to be 6-mm steel balls – were believed to be fired on Wednesday night. Local police said they are investigating the anonymous attack.

'King of Rings' retires

Chen Yibing, one of the most decorated Chinese gymnasts, revealed at a charity event on Friday to Beijing News that the Tianjin authorities of sports management have approved his application for retirement. He is a four-time world champion on still rings.