Some Beijing Citizens Fear Mayan 2012 Prophecy

I have to admit this story -and one I'd posted a couple of days ago about the Chinese guy who built an ark - surprise me. I thought China was a closed society - how did these folks even hear about the Mayan prophecy?

From The Epoch Times:  Some Beijing Citizens Fear Mayan 2012 Prophecy

One of four historic Mayan manuscripts that still exist in the world and that together suggest modern  water, and life preservers.
People are talking about ancient Mayan predictions, which have been interpreted by some as meaning the end of the world is near. Chinese media reported how the predictions are affecting some Chinese people in the capital.
Beijing resident Ms. Xu told The Epoch Times that people have been discussing doomsday via text messages, urging others to stock up on food and other provisions. She said fears about the end of the world increased when local lay Buddhists discussed the topic.
According to an Associated Press report, experts say the Mayans did not predict that Dec. 21, 2012, would be the end of the world. “There are many ancient Maya monuments that discuss events far into the future from now,” wrote Geoffrey Braswell, an anthropologist at the University of California, San Diego, quoted by AP.
However, Mr. Lu, a member of the 13th regiment of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, raised 1.5 million yuan (US$240,898.50) and took two years to build a “Noah’s Ark.”
Lu told Chinese media that he has been studying the Mayan prophecies since college. “Mayan prophecies have always been quite accurate,” he said. “So the prediction that the dawn of Dec. 22, 2012 will never come will come true as well.”
Lu designed and purchased the materials for the ark himself and worked until nightfall every day, finally hiring four workers to help him finish it. He said if the end of the world does not come, the ark could be used for tourist transport, for flood relief, or as a ferry to make up for the lack of bridges in Xinjiang.
Japanese princess and New Age luminary Kaoru Nakamura said in a YouTube video that the Earth is going to go dark for three days starting Dec. 22. “We are in dark completely, no electricity, no sun,” she said, adding that some government officials know of the coming disaster and are building secret hiding places. Meanwhile, we should “open our hearts,” and become better people, “filling our hearts with golden light.” Princess Nakamura said her third eye is open and she is able to “communicate with UFOs.”
NASA has assured the public that no catastrophic threats to Earth are coming on Dec. 21, The space agency added that the date called “the end of the world” was only the end of one cycle on the Mayan long-count calendar “but then, just as your calendar begins again on Jan. 1, another long-count period begins for the Mayan calendar.”