Society

A head-on collision between an overloaded van and a coal truck left at least 20 people - including 18 preschoolers - dead and another 44, mostly children, injured on Wednesday.

The van, which contained nine seats and had been converted into a school bus of sorts, was traveling in Yulinzi township in Qingyang city, Gansu province, at 9:40 am, when the crash occurred. Sixty-four people were aboard it - 62 children, a teacher and a bus driver - said a statement from the city's work safety bureau.

They were on their way to the Little Doctor Kindergarten in Yulinzi township.

Last wave of fake Chinese banknotes hit Guangxi China Nov. 2011.

The serial numbers on this bunch of new high-quality bogus RMB 100 banknotes are LN37638309, LN37638313 and LN37638302. Police seized 30,000 yuan worth of high-quality counterfeit 100 yuan notes in Guigang city, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, South China. It's difficult to tell these fake notes from real ones as they carry water marks, metal wires and a number of other anti-counterfeit features.

Students at Yangzhou University in East China's Jiangsu province indulge in pillow fights as they prepare to mark Singles' Day on Friday.

Guanggun literally means "bare sticks" for the 11th day of the 11th month is dominated by the number 1, similar in shape to a stick. Guanggun also denotes a Chinese slang, meaning "single people".

The festival this year is being deemed as "the ultimate Singles' Day of the century", as the year 2011 also contains two "sticks" in it.

"I'm going to summon some friends on the Internet and celebrate the century's biggest Singles' Day with them," said Ji Guangzhong, a 23-year-old man in Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning province.

"I don't even mind if they are male," added Ji. "Being alone on the day makes me feel miserable."

Cheating in exams on various levels has become prevalent across China. Reports of professional tests being leaked often make the news. The technology used in exams also has become more advanced.

Students take a test on the playground at Sihuang middle school in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province, Nov 10, 2011. The purpose for moving the test outdoors is to prevent cheating, according to the school's principal.