Viral Week: Devastating floods in Henan and other trending news

Floods bring chaos, death, and heroism

Massive floods hit China's central Henan province last week, with 63 now confirmed dead.

One man trapped in a flooded parking garage in Zhengzhou was rescued after three days. When record-breaking rains hit the city on July 20, the man had entered the garage to move his car, but was unable to get out. He crawled inside a ventilator and survived on rainwater for nearly 72 hours before someone finally heard his cries for help.

Meanwhile, Yu Yifei, a 26-year-old trainee doctor on his way home from his first day of an internship at the Zhengzhou People's Hospital, spent six hours providing medical assistance to passengers trapped in the flooded subway tunnels of Zhengzhou on July 20. Two days later, Yu's supervisor at the hospital informed him he has been hired without needing to complete his internship.

China off to fast start at Tokyo Olympics

China currently leads the medal table at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, with six gold medals in weightlifting, diving, fencing, and shooting, as well as two silver medals and three bronze medals. Twenty-one-year-old Yang Qian won the first gold at these Games with victory in the women's 10-meter rifle event.

Quanzhou becomes China's latest UNESCO site

The city of Quanzhou in Fujian province has won its bid to become China's 56th UNESCO site. A major maritime trade and cultural hub during the Song (960 – 1279) and Yuan (1271 – 1368) dynasties, Quanzhou was described by Marco Polo as the biggest port in the world in the 13th century, and is home to historic sites such as the Kaiyuan Temple, the Qingjing Mosque, and the Cao'an Manichean Temple.

Man carves Ultraman out of tofu for son

Mr. Ruan from Kunming, Yunnan, spent 8 hours carving an Ultraman figure out of tofu for his 4-year-old son, an avid fan of the Japanese superhero. Mr. Ruan, who works in food R&D and teaches cooking classes, regularly makes creative carvings out of tofu. He said this project was a lot harder than his normal motifs of birds and flowers.

CEO arrested for assault

Zhang Tao, the 57-year-old CEO of China Aerospace Investment Holdings Ltd., was arrested and expelled from the Communist Party for allegedly assaulting two scientists back in June. According to an online exposé, Zhang invited the two members of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) for dinner, hoping they would endorse his application for membership to their organization. When they refused, a drunk Zhang apparently turned violent. However, details of the crime have not yet been provided by police.

Criminal expresses gratitude for own arrest

A scammer arrested by police sent a brocade pennant (jinqi) of gratitude to the officer, You Chuanchuan, who brought him in. The fraudster claimed he had been duped when looking for a job and was trapped in the scam ring by a criminal gang. Officer You said it’s the first time in his seven-year career that he had received a pennant from a suspect.

Toddler's ping-pong skills impress netizens

A viral video shows a 2-year-old child playing ping-pong calmly and “professionally” with an adult.