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Echo Xie

When Zhang Zhengxiang heard that officials in Kunming had been named and shamed for damaging the environment around Dianchi Lake he was so pleased he could not sleep for two days.
The scandal involved a real estate project on Changyao Mountain on the east bank of the lake that was made public by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment on May 6.
After a month-long investigation, inspectors found that the project, which involved more than 1,000 villas and flats, had resulted in damage to more than 90 per cent of the area around the mountain.
“I can finally see the light in the protection of Dianchi Lake,” Zhang said.
Covering 330 sq km (127 square miles), the freshwater lake is the biggest of its kind in southwest China and one of the most popular scenic spots in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province.

The bond between Zhang and the lake dates back decades. Born in 1948, Zhang’s father died when he was five and his mother later left him and his two younger brothers to fend for themselves. When his siblings died, Zhang, then aged seven, went to live on the mountain on the west bank of the lake by himself, though he maintained contact with villagers who occasionally gave him food, clothes and other necessities.
“Spring and summer were the best seasons,” he said. “There were all kinds of wild fruit on the mountain – strawberries, bayberries, apricots.”
But there were also wolves, bears and leopards and he would hide in the trees when he heard the breath of leopards. Squirrels were his best friends, he said.
“They won’t harm me and they lived happily,” Zhang said. “I just followed them to find pine nuts and saved them for food through the winter.”
Chinese environmental filmmaker says he hopes ban on solid waste imports is just the beginning
When he was 14, he had a yearning for knowledge, so he left the mountain and returned to live in Fushan village near Dianchi Lake. His childhood experiences taught him about nature and laid the foundation for his conservation work in his later life – his unique experience made him stand out among China’s environmentalists.
“Dianchi Lake and Changyao Mountain are like my parents. They raised me,” he said.

Zhang’s fight against pollution began in the 1980s when China began its economic reforms. Investors were drawn to the mountains around Dianchi Lake because of the abundant mineral resources and spruce trees. Mines and workshops sprang up everywhere.
Zhang said the situation was at its most severe in the 1990s when quarrying and illegal logging almost ran out of control. Almost every week, he reported his findings to the environmental protection bureau.
He said he had probably made 30,000 complaints over the years, which had led to more than 160 polluting factories and over 40 quarry mines being closed down. In 2009, he won an “Inspiring China” award, which he received at an event that was broadcast on national television.
Despite the accolades, Zhang and his family were often harassed by miners and the owners of polluting factories. In 2002, he was hit by a truck while taking photographs at a quarry which cost him the sight in his right eye and a broken wrist.
Authorities reject claims a forest in China was destroyed to make way for vineyards
Zhang has married twice but both his wives and his three daughters left him. One of his friends who fought with him over a polluting factory was beaten to death in the 1990s.
But Zhang said he was not afraid.
“I’m not afraid of death but I feel sorry for my family and friends,” Zhang said. “I feel miserable whenever I think about them.”
After years of investment and conservation, water quality in Dianchi Lake has begun to show signs of recovery. According to state media reports, authorities have spent more than 50 billion yuan (US$7.7 billion) cleaning it up.
Now aged 73, Zhang still cares about the lake. Every week, he takes a taxi ride around it to check for polluters and he continues to report malpractices and environmental violations.
“After my death, I want to become an eagle so I can hover over Dianchi Lake, or become a spruce tree planted on the west side of the lake so I can continue to watch over it,” he said.


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Environment

Chinese campaigner’s dedication to Dianchi Lake finally pays off

Zhang Zhengxiang says he takes a taxi ride around Dianchi Lake every week on the lookout for polluters. Photo: CNA

Authorities in Yunnan are rapidly trying to demolish more than 1,000 villas and flats in a nature conservation area on the banks of Dianchi Lake in Kunming, Yunnan province. Photo: Handout

Royalty-free stock photo ID: 1937778142Kunming cityscape and Dianchi lake panorama taken from Xishan or west hill in Kunming Yunnan China. Shutterstock Images

Chinese city levels Dianchi Lake villas after Beijing sees red at green zone violations

The housing development turned a previously lush green hillside on Dianchi Lake into a “concrete mountain”, according to central government inspectors. Photo: Handout

(200120) -- KUNMING, Jan. 20, 2020 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), visits an ecological wetland of Dianchi Lake in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 20, 2020. Xi visited the wetland to examine the protection and pollution treatment of the lake during an inspection tour to the province. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

Will this illegal golf course be the centre of China’s next political storm?

Staff at the illegal golf course in the Dianchi Lake conservation area planted trees to try to remedy the situation. Photo: Sohu

A golf course in the southwestern Yunnan province found a way to cope with the environment inspectorsÑto plant trees.Located on the east side of the Dianchi Lake, a large freshwater lake close to the capital city Kunming, the golf course covers an area of 116 acres, but its 65 per cent is inside of the conservation area of the lake.When inspectors went to the golf course on April 14, some people were spotted playing golf. A large number of saplings were piled on the ground and some places were just watered after trees being planted, thepaper.cn reported on Friday. Photo: Sohu

Authorities reject claims a forest in China was destroyed to make way for vineyards

The forest in China’s arid northwest was planted to protect the area from desertification and sandstorms. Photo: Weibo

News

China

Politics

People & Culture


Zhang Zhengxiang lived alone on a mountain overlooking the lake from the ages of seven to 14 and regards the area as his spiritual home
He was delighted when some officials were punished for polluting the area and building houses there



Zhang Zhengxiang lived alone on a mountain overlooking the lake for seven years until he was 14 and regards the area as his spiritual home.


China society

China pollution

Chinese campaigner’s dedication to Dianchi Lake finally pays off

Zhang Zhengxiang lived alone on a mountain overlooking the lake from the ages of seven to 14 and regards the area as his spiritual home He was delighted when some officials were punished for polluting the area and building houses there

Zhang Zhengxiang lived alone on a mountain overlooking the lake from the ages of seven to 14 and regards the area as his spiritual home

He was delighted when some officials were punished for polluting the area and building houses there