Fighting Mad After 49-day Fast

A kung fu-practising, Buddhist-meditating, tai chi-breathing Chinese herbalist has laid claim to the world record for fasting after apparently going without food for 49 days.

But far from celebrating his achievement, Chen Jianmin is now locked in a war of words with a professional myth-debunker who has declared his feat "simply impossible".

After spending seven weeks without food in a glass box suspended nine metres (30ft) above a hillside in south-west China, Mr Chen has had to fight off claims that the event was a hoax aimed at promoting a local tourist resort and traditional herbal tonics.

Despite losing more than 20kg (three stone) during his stint in the box, he has not convinced China's most celebrated sceptic, Sima Nan, that the 45-day fasting record set in London last summer by the US illusionist David Blaine has been broken.

Although more than 1,000 people cheered as Mr Chen emerged from his transparent cell on Saturday, Mr Sima wasted no time in declaring the fasting feat "simply impossible". He has written an open letter to China's Association for Science and Technology, urging a physical examination to check Mr Chen's claims.

The company that funded the record-attempt to market the Bifengxia tourist resort in Ya'an, Sichuan province, said it was inconceivable that the feat had been staged.

Genuine or not, the feat will not be entered into the Guinness Book of Records, which considers fasting contests too life-threatening to be encouraged.