Chinese President Xi Jinping (3rd, R) plants a sapling together with pupils during a tree-planting event in Sunhe Township of Chaoyang District in Beijing, capital of China, April 3, 2015. Top Communist Party of China (CPC) and state leaders Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli attended a tree planting event in Beijing on Friday. [Lan Hongguang/Xinhua]
Du Meiying inside a cave where she lived for two years in Yichang, central China's Hubei province on April 3, 2015 [Photo: chinanews.com]
A woman has been living in a cave for two years in the rural area of Yichang, central China's Hubei province as a result of poor economic conditions, reports chinanews.com.
52-year-old Du Meiying has been living in the 100 square meter cave and collecting water drops from the roof with a tub for drinking water.
Her sole income was the local basic living allowances, 100 yuan (US$16) per month and she grew vegetables herself nearby.
She said she was not living in healthy conditions and her greatest hope was to live in a real room.
The local civil affairs department had sent her to a welfare house but she left after a quarrel with others. Her brother was not able to provide help due to his poor economic situations.
Performers in ancient folk costume attend activities during the "Xiangshi" , also called Incense Fair, in Wuzhen, east China's Zhejiang Province, April 3, 2015. The ancient "Xiangshi", dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907AD), kicked off in Wuzhen Friday. During this time each year, varieties of local dramas are staged and native vaudevilles are displayed. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)
Performers reenact a scene of Emperor Wu Zetian watching peonies with her maids at a botanic garden in Luoyang, central China's Henan Province, April 4, 2015. Wu Zetian was China's only recorded female sovereign who ruled in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). (Xinhua/Li An)