Photos: Chinese river turns bloody from pollution from dyehouses

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From Caijing and QQ

Hearing about water pollution is one thing; seeing it in its true colors is another. To residents on the lower reach of Jian River in Luoyang, Henan province, the sight of their drinking water source taking on a bloody color signifies the doomsday.

After the reporter traced the red color river flow back, it turns out that two dyehouses discharged their untreated wastewater directly into Jian river. Jian River is a tributary of Luo River, which finally empties into Yellow River, meaning that the pollution is likely to affect hundreds of thousands more.

The reporter contacted the local environmental protection bureau and told them specifically where the two pollution sources are, but in the four water samples taken by the bureau staff, the red color disappeared. According to the labels on the four samples, none of them were taken from the pollution sources, and in fact, three were taken from locations upstream of the dyehouses.

Later, the two dyehouses were shut down.

Selected comments from Sina Weibo posts (here and here):

我爱-高跟鞋: …Leaders and officials have special water supply! They are not afraid!!!

耶稣满月：That’s how an environmental bureau stealthily and illegally accumulates wealth.

brothera: The officials at all levels of our country have fully mastered superb acting skills. The environmental bureau absolutely understood what that was. But having received fines (and bribe) from the company, they would surely feign ignorance despite knowledge.

夏至灿烂：Absolutely a wonderful scenery. Can conveniently apply for a national-level recognition.

hanluivy：The city of Luoyang in my childhood was “Yi, Luo, Tan, Jian,” all clear waters. (Jing’s note: Yi, Luo, Tan and Jian are names of four rivers running through Luoyang) Together they resembled a jade girdle.  Today, except for Yi River and Luo River, the rest are all dead waters. Even now I often hear my mom reminisce about the romance of bicycling with my father to the top of Mountain Mang to view the city of Luoyang embraced by four rivers…

抱着蜜罐的维尼：The environmental protection bureau exists in name only…环保局如同虚设。。//@Avane蚊: Feel heartbroken by China’s environmental issues. 

纯天然好人：I feel they would say (it was) caused by people upstream washing tomatoes.

huoii：Damn, what does “shut-down” mean? There is no fine or penalty?

九旦的小宝：The supervisory body has once again gone to racket around and making money by unfair means.

80后思考者：What can possibly pollute and turn the river into red color? The Nanjing Massacre?

McQul：It is still Chinese people themselves who murdered the most Chinese people. Japanese invasion woke Chinese up with a start. But why those murders committed by the countrymen of the same countrymen just made people numb and callous?

岭南过客尔：An amazing country…Just let those capitalist countries envy us.

John__Doe：The river is bleeding.

安博益智罗磊：”Blood and sweat” of Mother Nature!

墨之常乐：Those who polluted the environment should simply be dragged out and shot dead.

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