The Yellow River, dubbed as the Mother River and also known as the cradle of Chinese civilization, has for a long time been facing the threat of pollution.

After years of treatment, the majority of the river has gradually improved. However, there is still a growing concern about environmental protection, especially in the upper reaches, such as the Jin-Shan Gorge section (Jin and Shan are the abbreviation of Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces) which borders with Shaanxi, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. This section is currently called the "black triangle" by locals.

Doesn't it sound ironical? People who live so close to the Mother River are cut off from the water source? But that's an undeniable truth for the villagers living in Dongshan Village, in Fugu county of Shaanxi Province.

Dongshan village, on the bank of the Yellow River, has used almost all its minerals and faces severe water shortages due to excessive exploitation. The only water source from the local spring that the villagers live on is now leaking away into cracks in the ground caused by land mine explosions.

Caves line the two banks of this section of the Yellow River. One local resident told a reporter from Xinhua that, every cave is two or three hundred meters deep. The entire mountains are almost empty as the miners just take all the minerals away to lime and cement factories. On top of the caves are five to six mining factories competing to obtain the resources. Every year, they pour large quantities of sand into the river, which have greatly scarred the river and made the situation increasingly serious.

According to Zhang Hongshu, the secretary of the Environmental Bureau of Baode County in Shanxi Province, the "Black Triangle" mainly refers to the bordering parts of the river between Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces, including four counties Zhunger, Hequ, Fugu and Baode. The "Black Triangle" is the key site under inspection by related authorities due to its severe pollution.
 
(CRIENGLISH.com May 14, 2007)