Twenty-five Chinese records went into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2005, according to China's Guinness submissions office on Monday.

 

"These new entries reflect China's long history and rich culture, modern achievements in science and technology, as well as the lives of ordinary Chinese," said Wu Xiaohong, a staff member with the Guinness submissions office of Liaoning Publishing Group, which is the only Guinness-authorized agency in China.

 

The Confucius family genealogy, one of the 25 records, is considered the longest of its kind. Dating back 2,800 years, it clearly records the 86 generations in the Confucius family tree.

 

In addition, the records of unique feminine writing symbols discovered in Hunan Province and the oldest angiosperm fossils unearthed in northeast China are both mirrors of China's long civilization, Wu said.

 

Some modern wonders, including the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the longest rubber dam in east China which runs 1,135 meters, were entered.

 

Hong Kong's Kwai Chung container wharf, 105 meters high and occupying 860,000 square meters, is considered the largest industrial construction.

 

Some group events were also recorded by Guinness, such as the flute performance attended by 5,600 Hong Kong children, and a horse race in Inner Mongolia, which involved 200 horses.

 

Individual Chinese also made their contributions. A Beijing resident, named Wang Jun, made the smallest two-stringed traditional Chinese instrument, the "erhu", measuring a mere 4.7 cm.

 

The Guinness Book of World Records registers over 50,000 records of various kinds. Last year, China submitted 500 entries, 5 percent of which made the cut.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 17, 2006)