Pollution in Taihu (Lake Tai)

By Jian Shuo Wang on 2008-10-20 22:57 · Taihu

During my trip to Xishan, I passed Taihu. The beautiful lake - the third largest freshwater lake in China.

To be surprise, Taihu changed a lot - because of polution.

Because of the nitrogen and phosphorus discharged by the chemical and fishing factories around the lake, algae overgrew in the lake like crazy, further decreased the water quality.

Look at the picture I took below:

Did you see the green thing on the surface of the water? That is the overgrown algae. It made the water looks dirty.

It is said that 20 billion RMB will be spent to cure the polution.

China has sweared to avoid the “polute first, and then clean” way - the “capitalist way”. However, the reality is the opposite.

Check out what Taihu used to be in these photos:

Suzhou Taihu Mercury Club & Marina

P.S. I once ride back to Taihu by bike.

7 Comments
I took my mom to visit Taihu in Septemer 2006, and it's really as beautiful and clean as that in the pictures you took in 2006. I think next weekend I'll go to Suzhou to visit a baby girl to whom a couple of my old college classmates have just gave birth, haha, she must be very cute. If I have time, and I'll visit some places, maybe Xishan is a good choice. BTW, Jianshuo, do you like the ecard I sent to you for your birthday, actually those cute penguins busy preparing to celebrate your birthday?
— Michelle · 2008-10-21 10:56
Everything has two sides. When our country was poor, development was the most important strategy. Now the economy is developing much, at the same time we have to face many other negative problems which maybe be caused by the economic development, such as the polution, the overusing of energy, and even the change of humanity. But frankly speaking, I am sure it is even worse if our country still poor now. So pls understand the basic situation, give our country more support and more time to deal with these problems, then we could expect a better future together.
— Christina Hou · 2008-10-21 11:46
One person has oppose the pollution, informing gov official about which factories do not respect the standards...

To thanks him, he got in hause arrest without trial for month. maybe he is still...

Here some news:

http://www.pacificenvironment.org/article.php?id=2546

(buy googleling his name you can find much more article on this story)
— david · 2008-10-21 11:52
Our goverment has already realized the entironment problem was a big issue in our country, so they put a lot of measures, time, and money towards it in order to renew the beauty as previous.... we can see all the efforts... as one part of our big family, we should do everything from 'I' to protect our environment.
— shylly · 2008-10-21 17:14
Christina, pollution no longer has to be an inevitable side effect of development. There is a real opportunity for China's economy to develop without destroying all the natural resources in the process and it shows a total ignorance of this issue to assume that for a person to show concern about pollution must also mean a lack of patriotism.
— NJ · 2008-10-27 14:20
What is the Latin name of the genus and species of blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) that now blooms in Taihu?
— joe.shuren · 2008-10-31 11:39
Lake Taihu's pollution is under better control now. But if the government does not do enough, the pollution would come back again soom like what happened before. See the links

http://www.jiangsu.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=60&p=445&hilit

http://www.jiangsu.net/news/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=195:lake-taihu-dredging-project-going-well&catid=42:wuxi&Itemid=0
— toross · 2009-01-29 02:52