What if Beijing's rivers ran clear?

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What if Beijing's rivers ran clear?Dongting Lu
May 04, 2007 Beijing's waterways suffer from severe pollution. But even if they did not, the residents of the capital might present an even greater threat, writes Dongting Lu.\"If the capital’s water is ever cleaned up, perhaps the residents will have to restrain their love of water, or at least find another way to express it. Else it will not stay clean for long.\"

At some of Beijing's beauty spots, you can still find fresh, clear water flowing from underground springs: water which is eagerly sought by city residents, who fill up plastic containers to drink or to use in their cooking.

This phenomenon can be seen at many of Beijing's best-known sites, including Badachu Park and the Xiangshan Botanical Gardens. Local authorities have put up signs prohibiting unauthorised water collection, but to no effect.

Avid anglers



The capital’s anglers are even more numerous. They fill up the train at six in the morning from Beijing South Station, carrying a jumble of fishing rods, stools and nets, all heading for a series of reservoirs on the Yongding River.



These fisherfolk, of all ages and backgrounds, often know each other from the time they spend sitting around Beijing's lakes, rivers and canals. Visit any body of water in Beijing, and you will see them holding out their fishing rods hopefully.



And they really do sit around any body of water: most are stagnant, poisoned or lifeless. But nevertheless, the eager anglers still try their luck.



I have always wondered why they go fishing: is it to eat? Hardly. Is it a hobby? Unlikely: China has little tradition of catching fish with a line. So what keeps them coming back? Is it just something to do?



There are those who prefer to use nets to catch their fish. As soon as the water level is low enough, they roll up their trousers, wade in and set their nets – or anything else they can use to catch fish. One group prefers to electrocute its prey, riding around on motorbikes and stopping here and there to dip their equipment in the water and scoop up the stunned fish.  



In February, the Beijing Water Authority announced that rate of water treatment had reached 90%, meaning the target for the Olympics had been attained a year in advance. But take a look and you will find that Beijing’s waterways are still plagued by low water levels, unclean water and, further downstream, a lack of surviving wetlands. And despite this, there are still hordes of anglers out on the water.



Determined bathers

Beijing is also home to a group of outdoor swimmers that can be found in and around the city’s lakes.



One of these lakes is Yuyuantan, in west central Beijing. This lake links up with Kunming Lake in the city’s northwest. In the 1960s, a canal was built to bring water from the Miyun Reservoir to Kunming Lake. Since some of Beijing's waterworks were located beside Yuyuantan, an extra canal was built to link the two bodies of water.



The water quality in Yuyuantan is above average, making it a popular destination for bathers. The park authorities have erected signs beside certain spots, warning them that since 1996, almost 100 people have died as a result of swimming in the lake. But swimmers still laugh and chat next to the sign – even bringing buckets of water from home to wash in after their swim.



Shichahai is a network of six lakes that stretches from the central government complex at Zhongnanhai through Beihai Park to Qianhai, Houhai and peaceful Xihai. The lakes took shape during the Yuan Dynasty and are closely linked with the history of the capital. The development of an entertainment industry around Qianhai and Houhai led to greater efforts to improve water quality; these include pollution control and bringing in clean water from the Chang River, which connects to Yuyuantan and Kunming Lake. The Shichahai bathers are there all year round; even the occasional deaths have not discouraged them.



Swimmers are also found at other locations in Beijing, even where the water quality is very poor. It is as if nothing can stop them – not the weather, the dirty water or the mystified stares of passers by.



However, the state of Beijing’s water does put off most of the capital’s residents from swimming. What would the result be if the water ran clear, if all of Beijing's 20 million residents decided to take up swimming in the waters of the city?



Fish food

Beijing's water pollution has given rise to a new industry: catching and farming water fleas. These are popular as food for pet fish; anyone living near a dirty river – the fleas are drawn to the poor sanitation – can easily bag enough to keep their goldfish happy. Professional fish breeders will don waders and spend a whole day collecting fleas.

Liangshui River is a natural river that runs from Beijing’s northwest to southeast, but in recent years it has become an important route for getting polluted water out of the city. Once it passes a water treatment plant at the city’s fourth ring road, untreated water enters the river, and it becomes steadily filthier. The water fleas are caught in this water, stored in riverside pools and sold on to wholesalers, who sell them to retailers in the city’s fish markets.



If Beijing's rivers were cleaned up, this industry would die.


And if Beijing's waterways really became clean, pure and full of life, what damage would the people do? Everyone is attracted to water, it revitalises the soul just as drinking it sustains our bodies. This is no crime, but if the capital’s water is ever cleaned up, perhaps the residents will have to restrain their love of water, or at least find another way to express it. Else it will not stay clean for long.



Lu Dongting is a Beijing-based reporter.

Homepage photo by Doncorleon.


假如北京的水清纯了吕洞庭
2007年5月4日 北京的水污染很严重。但是，吕洞庭说，假如北京的水清了，城市居民的“亲水”本能都得到释放，那么河流与水可能受到比污染更严重的迫害。\"假如北京的水清纯了，居民可能要压抑与生俱来的“亲水冲动”，或者改变亲水的方式才能真正保持水的清纯。\"

人多势众的取水客和钓鱼迷
北京有一些景点现在仍有泉水冒出，这些从地底涌出的神圣之水引发了周围居民的争夺战。他们把家里的各种大型塑料桶备足，腾出专门的时间到泉水边接水，用于饮用和做饭。

北京的八大处公园、香山植物园、京东大峡谷、凤凰岭、红螺寺等地，都有这样的“逐水族”争夺神圣的水源。北京市政府在各个水源边贴出公示“不许私自取水”，但没起到任何作用。

钓鱼人比取水人的数量还要庞大得多。从北京南站，有一趟车在清晨六点多开出，在起始站和接下来的丰台站，都会有许多钓鱼迷上车。他们携带着出户外钓鱼所需要的一切辎重，包括马扎、鱼竿、装鱼的网桶等。他们去的地方，是永定河三家店水库以上、官厅水库以下的几个水库。三家店水库是永定河有水的最后一座水库，把水引向北京的永定河引水渠的渠首就在这个水库。

钓鱼迷们往往都互相认识。这些原始身份各异、年龄也参差不齐的人，把他们的鱼竿探遍了几乎北京所有有水的地方。所有有水的地方，人们一定会看到鱼竿，看到旁边在风中安坐着的沉默的钓鱼者。

之所以说“有水的地方”是有根据的，北京城区内的河流，绝大多数地方都仍旧污臭，像护城河，只能靠死水、再生水和雨水来维系其景观。其他的河流，不是身中剧毒而生命垂危，就是“营养过剩”而步履沉重。但不管是什么样的河边，都有钓鱼者安然下钩垂钓。

我每一次都要问：他们钓鱼是为了什么？为了吃？不可能。为了修身养性？似乎也尴尬：坐在臭水河边，用鱼饵诱鱼上钩的办法，与中国传统文化思维的修身养性术似乎都不太合拍。那这些钓鱼迷到底是为了什么？为了生命有个寄托？

北京还有一批“网鱼派”，任何一条河流，只要水浅一点，挽起裤脚就可以下水时，他们就会从家里找出挂网、沾网，或者一切可能在水里网上鱼的用具，想尽一切办法把水里的鱼打捞起来。北京也有人玩电鱼，他们骑着摩托车，带着电鱼器，穿着水裤，到处去电鱼。  

根据北京市水务局2007年2月初的宣布，北京市的污水处理率已经达到90%，提前一年达到“奥运水环境目标”。但实地考察之后，你会发现，北京的水环境并不乐观，缺水、水脏、下游缺少湿地，仍旧是北京水之困。但就是这样水环境，就已经有成千上万的人痴迷于各种猎鱼之乐。

不听劝阻的野泳者


北京有一批自我认同感非常好的野泳者，任何有心人在白天的任何时间，在玉渊潭、长河、昆玉河、什刹海、昆明湖等地都能看到他们。  

玉渊潭的水与昆明湖是相通的，而昆明湖就是京密引水渠的终点。20世纪60年代，修京密引水渠时，由于一些水厂在玉渊潭旁边，因此，专门在计划外修建了昆玉河，以把昆明湖的水通过明渠引到水厂旁边。

玉渊潭的水质在北京的公园里算是好的，玉渊潭公园也因此成为野泳者最常去的地方。在野泳者比较多的地点，公园管理部门立了一个牌子，上面写着自1996年以来这里已经有96人因为游泳而丢失性命。然而，牌子旁边，游泳者们依然笑声朗朗、歌声阵阵。他们还从家里带了一大桶水，以便游泳之后冲净身体。

“什刹海”所在的“六海”（南海、中海、北海、前海、后海、西海）地区自元朝起，就与北京的都城命运极度相关。近年来，由于发展酒吧业，什刹海更是精心地保证它的水质：一是尽量治污，二是尽量引进新鲜的水。新鲜的水就从长河慢慢地流来。现在的长河，与昆玉河是交汇的，因此，昆玉河的水能够时常对其进行些补给。在什刹海里游泳的人，也从未间断，不管是冬泳、春泳、秋泳还是夏泳。有时候也会出现窒息和溺亡事件，有时候也有人对此皱眉头，但这都挡不住野泳者的热情。

长河在流经西直门时，呈“几” 字型，因此这一段也被称为“转河”。每天转河附近也会有人来游泳。东南护城河的水质虽然一般，可野泳者依然乐此不疲。对于北京的野泳爱好者来说，天气、水质、周围人的不解，都无法阻挡他们的乐趣。

有时候，北京的水脏有个好处，至少让很多有亲水意愿的人，因为厌恶肮脏而远离了河流。假如北京的水变清了，2000多万人都可以在自然界中亲水、戏水的时候，城市内部、周边这些河流的身体，能在拐过第几个弯时，不至于受伤而死？

日益兴旺的鱼虫捕捞业


北京的污水排放带动了一个新兴产业：鱼虫捕捞和鱼虫养殖。鱼虫是一种红色的小虫子，家里养鱼的人往往买这种虫子来喂养在缸中游动的精灵。有些人，住处不远就是肮脏的河流，河流越肮脏，鱼虫长得越好。因此，他们会备个兜网，只需把网放入河中捞上几捞，就可以捕到足够自家用的鱼虫。另有一些专门养鱼卖的人，他们会穿上水裤，用整整一天的时间，到河里捞鱼虫。

凉水河原本是北京另一条从西北向东南方向流的自然河流，近年也成了北京的重要排污沟。这条河流出南四环外的小红门污水处理厂之后，由于两岸仍旧有大量的污水未经处理就排入，所以河水越来越脏。但这样正好支撑了鱼虫的养殖业。有人专门在河里捞鱼虫，然后于某个“河心岛”上挖出一块小塘，把鱼虫在里面豢养，鱼虫贩子专门来收购这样的鱼虫，把它运回城区的鱼市场批发给销售商。   

假如北京的水清纯了，现在正兴旺的鱼虫产业，想来也就要萎缩了。

如果北京的水真的变清了，纯了，河流变得有生气了，北京的水体上，会有多少人对其进行更加残酷的伤害呢？每个人都有亲水的本能，每个人都希望河湖和好水能像滋养身体那样滋养心灵。亲水本身没有罪过，有罪的是污染。因此，假如北京的水清纯了，居民可能要压抑与生俱来的“亲水冲动”，或者改变亲水的方式才能真正保持水的清纯。





作者：吕洞庭，驻北京记者。