Private islands up for auction

In today's trending, private islands up for grabs, dinosaur fossils found in Chongqing, badly-behaved tourist shakes blossoming tree, men attack self-service machines and a toddler takes a Tesla for a joyride.

A still image of an island from a Shangdong TV report on the uninhabited islands up for auction.[Photo/iqilu.com]

Private islands up for grabs

Recently, islands in Fiji, Greece, the UK and Canada were auctioned off on China's largest online shopping platform, Taobao. However, if you were looking for a private island closer to home, this may be your chance.

More than 500 islands in East China's Shangdong province will be put up for auction from mid March, with leases of up to 50 years, Shangdong TV reported.

The report said that theoretically anyone can apply for the usage rights of the 577 uninhabited islands to develop them into tourist attractions or fish farms, for example.

But they don't come cheap. It may cost more than 100 million yuan ($16 million), including construction fees to supply the island with water and electricity, a pier and boats in order to make them habitable.

An uninhabited island in East China's Fujian province. [File Photo/IC]

Next up: dinosaur fossils found in Chongqing.