The river looks like an oil painting. (Photo/Qianjiang Evening News)
The Dongjiehe River in east China's Zhejiang Province has become a striking but disturbing sight in the past few months: it looks like an oil painting.
The discolored river in Longshan Township, Cixi City, is thick with red and yellow oil slicks, after a company reportedly discharged wastewater into the current.
Pictures of the contaminated river have gone viral on the Internet and drawn widespread concern, with the public questioning implementation of environmental regulations.
On Tuesday, the Longshan publicity department confirmed to Xinhua that bearing manufacturer Shuanglong Bearing had accidentally spilled oil into the river.
It said that the company has been ordered to halt production, and that the waterway has returned to normal after cleaning.
In recent years, China has ramped up efforts to prevent water pollution. Its latest move, the revised Environmental Protection Law, which came into effect on Jan. 1, promises heavier punishments for those that fail to rectify violations. But the threats don't seem to have been entirely successful as a deterrent.
Last year, state broadcaster CCTV ran a special program on water contamination in which it said Shandong Lukang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. had been secretly discharging wastewater that contained antibiotics.
In addition, sample tests of major waterways, including the Yangtze, Pearl and Haihe rivers, all showed traces of antibiotics, with the Pearl River in south China being the most severely polluted, according to CCTV.
