A 50-year-old Chinese herbalist doctor began Saturday his planned 49-day fast in Ya'an City of southwest China's Sichuan Province, hoping to beat the 44-day record set last year by US magician David Blaine.

Under the supervision of a notary public and social supervisors, Chen Jianmin went into a glass room in Bifengxia Valley, a mountain resort in Ya'an City.

Chen has to live alone in the 15-sq-m room built halfway up the mountain in the coming 49 days during which he can't leave the room or have food, and can only drink water.

Chen's entire fast will be closely monitored by supervisors from Ya'an City Notary Office while a special medical team sent by Ya'an City People's Hospital and Huaxi Medical University will watch Chen's fast at the scene.

Chen, of Luzhou City in Sichuan, said his fast would "attest to the regimen of traditional Chinese medical science".

The record attempt will be monitored by 7 notaries public.

Chen claims to have undergone long-term fasting on three previous occasions in 1987, 1994 and 1999. He says the longest lasted 81 days, during which he ate no food but only drank water, while going to work regularly.

Experts of Western medicine questioned whether Chen could have fasted for such a long time. A physiologist at Sichuan University, who declined to be named, said modern medical research showed the average person could survive only seven days without food or water, and he dismissed Chen's claim of an 81-day fast from food as definitely impossible.

Chen said he would break the record through his method of "pigushengong" or "the magic of fasting," which had been documented in ancient Chinese medicine documents or Buddhist scriptures.

Medical experts say the challenge Chen has to overcome is not only the hunger, but his divorce with the society as he can talk to no one or watch TV in the glass room.

Before his adventure, Chen got a thorough physical and psychological examination by medical experts.
 
(Xinhua News Agency March 21, 2004)