The polluted yellow river.
Not a drop of rain has fallen in months, and the only clouds come from sandstorms lashing across the desert. But as the Yellow River bends through the barren landscape of north-central China, a startling vision shimmers on the horizon: emerald green rice fields, acres of yellow sunflowers, lush tracts of corn, wheat, and wolfberry—all flourishing under a merciless sky.
This is no mirage. The vast oasis in northern Ningxia, near the midpoint of the Yellow River's 3,400-mile journey from the Plateau of Tibet to the Bo Hai sea, has survived for more than 2,000 years, ever since the Qin emperor dispatched an army of peasant engineers to build canals and grow crops for soldiers manning the Great Wall. Shen Xuexiang is trying to carry on that tradition today. Lured here three decades ago by the seemingly limitless supply of water, the 55-year-old farmer cultivates cornfields that lie between the ruins of the Great Wall and the silt-laden waters of the Yellow River. From the bank of an irrigation canal, Shen gazes over the green expanse and marvels at the river's power: "I always thought this was the most beautiful place under heaven."
But this earthly paradise is disappearing fast. The proliferation of factories, farms, and cities—all products of China's spectacular economic boomis sucking the Yellow River dry. What water remains is being poisoned. From the canal bank, Shen points to another surreal flash of color: blood-red chemical waste gushing from a drainage pipe, turning the water a garish purple. This canal, which empties into the Yellow River, once teemed with fish and turtles, he says. Now its water is too toxic to use even for irrigation; two of Shen's goats died within hours of drinking from the canal.
The deadly pollution comes from the phalanx of chemical and pharmaceutical factories above Shen's fields, in Shizuishan, now considered one of the most polluted cities in the world. A robust man with a salt-and-pepper crew cut, Shen has repeatedly petitioned the environmental bureau to stop the unregulated dumping. The local official in charge of enforcement responded by deeming Shen's property "uninhabitable." Declaring that nothing else could be done, the official then left for a new job promoting the very industrial park he was supposed to be policing.
Yellow River
The Yellow River, with a total length of 5,464 kilometers, is the second longest river in China, just next to the Yangtze River. The Yellow River is the birthplace of ancient Chinese culture and the cradle of Chinese Civilization. It takes its source from the northern piedmont of the Bayanhar Mountain Range in Qinghai Province, meandering across 9 provinces and finally emptying into the Bohai Sea at Kenli of Shandong Province. Along the Yellow River Reaches, tourists can view the majestic resorts of the Yellow River and the unique scenery of the Loess Plateau.
The natural landscapes of the Yellow River are breathtaking and attractive, especially those in the Henan segment. As a huge dragon crouching on the central plains, the Yellow River begins to flow northward from Kaifeng City. The Zhengzhou segment of the Yellow River is broad and grand. Tourists acclaim the waves of the Yellow River as the acme of perfection. After entering Longmen, the steep precipices at both banks of the Yellow River seem to be cut by knife, and the river waves are surging and rushing forward. The supernatural power of the nature created various landscape resorts at the Sanmen Gorge where the Yellow River is surging inward and roaring forward and people can feel the perfect combination of gentleness and manly virility of the Yellow River.
Along the Yellow River, tourists can not only fully enjoy the natural scenery of the Yellow River, but also explore the Chinese history and culture. The multiplying and growing sites of Chinese ancients can be found along the Yellow River, such as the famous Yangshao Culture Site, the Birthplace of the First Ancestor Yellow Emperor, the Fuxi Mausoleum and the neighboring various cradles of surnames. The important ancient town Sanmen Gorge, the thousand-year-old ancient capital Luoyang, the commercial city Zhengzhou and the capital Kaifeng of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), etc. These are all the concrete exhibitions of the Yellow River culture, showing the rise and decline of China's history.
Not a drop of rain has fallen in months, and the only clouds come from sandstorms lashing across the desert. But as the Yellow River bends through the barren landscape of north-central China, a startling vision shimmers on the horizon: emerald green rice fields, acres of yellow sunflowers, lush tracts of corn, wheat, and wolfberry—all flourishing under a merciless sky.
This is no mirage. The vast oasis in northern Ningxia, near the midpoint of the Yellow River's 3,400-mile journey from the Plateau of Tibet to the Bo Hai sea, has survived for more than 2,000 years, ever since the Qin emperor dispatched an army of peasant engineers to build canals and grow crops for soldiers manning the Great Wall. Shen Xuexiang is trying to carry on that tradition today. Lured here three decades ago by the seemingly limitless supply of water, the 55-year-old farmer cultivates cornfields that lie between the ruins of the Great Wall and the silt-laden waters of the Yellow River. From the bank of an irrigation canal, Shen gazes over the green expanse and marvels at the river's power: "I always thought this was the most beautiful place under heaven."
But this earthly paradise is disappearing fast. The proliferation of factories, farms, and cities—all products of China's spectacular economic boomis sucking the Yellow River dry. What water remains is being poisoned. From the canal bank, Shen points to another surreal flash of color: blood-red chemical waste gushing from a drainage pipe, turning the water a garish purple. This canal, which empties into the Yellow River, once teemed with fish and turtles, he says. Now its water is too toxic to use even for irrigation; two of Shen's goats died within hours of drinking from the canal.
The deadly pollution comes from the phalanx of chemical and pharmaceutical factories above Shen's fields, in Shizuishan, now considered one of the most polluted cities in the world. A robust man with a salt-and-pepper crew cut, Shen has repeatedly petitioned the environmental bureau to stop the unregulated dumping. The local official in charge of enforcement responded by deeming Shen's property "uninhabitable." Declaring that nothing else could be done, the official then left for a new job promoting the very industrial park he was supposed to be policing.
Yellow River
The Yellow River, with a total length of 5,464 kilometers, is the second longest river in China, just next to the Yangtze River. The Yellow River is the birthplace of ancient Chinese culture and the cradle of Chinese Civilization. It takes its source from the northern piedmont of the Bayanhar Mountain Range in Qinghai Province, meandering across 9 provinces and finally emptying into the Bohai Sea at Kenli of Shandong Province. Along the Yellow River Reaches, tourists can view the majestic resorts of the Yellow River and the unique scenery of the Loess Plateau.
The natural landscapes of the Yellow River are breathtaking and attractive, especially those in the Henan segment. As a huge dragon crouching on the central plains, the Yellow River begins to flow northward from Kaifeng City. The Zhengzhou segment of the Yellow River is broad and grand. Tourists acclaim the waves of the Yellow River as the acme of perfection. After entering Longmen, the steep precipices at both banks of the Yellow River seem to be cut by knife, and the river waves are surging and rushing forward. The supernatural power of the nature created various landscape resorts at the Sanmen Gorge where the Yellow River is surging inward and roaring forward and people can feel the perfect combination of gentleness and manly virility of the Yellow River.
Along the Yellow River, tourists can not only fully enjoy the natural scenery of the Yellow River, but also explore the Chinese history and culture. The multiplying and growing sites of Chinese ancients can be found along the Yellow River, such as the famous Yangshao Culture Site, the Birthplace of the First Ancestor Yellow Emperor, the Fuxi Mausoleum and the neighboring various cradles of surnames. The important ancient town Sanmen Gorge, the thousand-year-old ancient capital Luoyang, the commercial city Zhengzhou and the capital Kaifeng of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), etc. These are all the concrete exhibitions of the Yellow River culture, showing the rise and decline of China's history.
No comments:
Post a Comment