Lucky phone number auctioned for 2.33m yuan
( 2003-08-19 14:30) (People's Daily)
A special phone number, "8888-8888",was auctioned Monday in
Chengdy, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, for 2.33 million
yuan (about US$ 280,723).
The digit 8 is a lucky number in China as it has a similar pronunciation to
the Chinese character which means "rich."
At the auction, the phone number composed of eight "8"s was eventually bought
by a bidder representing Sichuan Airlines Co., Ltd. after several rounds of
bidding.
Yu Xiudao, deputy general manager of the company, said that thephone number
would be used for the company's 24-hour hotline, which is planned to provide
ticket reservation and flight information services.
On the auction were a total of 100 phone numbers which include combinations
of special numbers like "8", "6" and "9" were sold for a total of 7.13 million
yuan (about 859,000 US dollars).
Zhang Xin, chief of Chengdu's telecommunications office, said all the money
would be donated for the city's "reemployment project" which aims to help
laid-off workers, and a special fund for fire fighters.
|
