A Chinese schoolteacher is preparing to cross the 112 mile-wide Taiwan Straits in a paper boat.

Zhu Yalin, a chemistry teacher in Meishan, Sichuan province, has arrived in Xiamen to build his boat. "Not only is the whole boat made of paper, but the glue is an organic material - cooked flour soup," he told the Straits Guidance Daily.

Zhu says his boat will be nearly 6ft long, the bottom will be 2ins thick and it will be strong enough to carry two people. He first tested a paper boat in August 2005, sailing on the Mingjiang River for 50 miles in 11 hours, from Meishan city to Leshan city.

He plans a short test voyage in salt water before attempting his journey across the Taiwan Straits. "According to my observations and experience, the conditions in the Taiwan straits are much better than the Mingjiang River. I am really looking forward to it," he said.

Zhu will set sail in his paper boat on October 31, escorted by a lifeboat and a pilot boat. If the trip is successful, he plans to build 60 more paper boats to form an armada to cross the Taiwan Straits again on New Year's Day.

A way of using up all the Christmas decorations?


Peter instantly regretted using toilet paper in his construction.

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