sail well

Rider to the sea

Zhu yalin, a chemistry teacher from Meishan, in China, plans to sail across the 112-mile-wide Taiwan Strait in a paper boat. Yalin told the Straits Guidance Daily that his boat will be built entirely of paper and even the glue will be an organic flour soup. The paper boat will be nearly six feet in length with a two-inch thick keel, which will be strong enough to carry two individuals. Yalin first thought of crossing the Taiwan Strait after he sailed across the Mingjiang River for 50 miles in 11 hours from Meishan City to Leshan City in August 2005. He has arrived in Xiamen to construct his paper boat and plans to take a test trip in salt water before he begins his voyage on October 31. A lifeboat and a pilot boat will guard him on his sail across the Taiwan Strait. Yalin also plans to build an armada of 60 paper boats to set sail on New Year’s Day if his upcoming voyage meets with success.

old boy

Young in spirit

He is 90 and still going strong. Gu Quanxi of Xiabao village, China, has said that there’s not a tree type that he cannot climb. Extremely poor, Quanxi’s family fed on cooked leaves which he procured from the trees he climbed. This got him into the habit of climbing trees. Although Quanxi’s family has forbidden him from climbing trees anymore, he still does it for the love of it.