Recently, the river water in a section of the river in Yuzhuang Village, Guali Town, Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou, suddenly turned bright red, attracting the attention of netizens. Prior to this event, several rivers in mainland China had experienced incidents of red water.
On the afternoon of August 28th, a netizen posted a video online, revealing that the river water in a section of Yuzhuang Village, Guali Town, Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou, appeared to be contaminated, turning a vivid red color. The video footage shows the river water gradually returning to its normal color after traveling forward for about several tens of meters.
On the morning of August 29th, the owner of a business near the river section mentioned above told Da Wan News that they were also witnessing this phenomenon for the first time. They said, “Yesterday (28th), the river in front of the store suddenly turned red. Currently, both sides of the affected river section have been blocked off, spanning approximately a hundred meters.”
After the incident gained attention, the government of Guali Town issued a report on the evening of the 29th, stating that no sewage discharge was detected. Water samples taken at the scene showed that the river water quality met Class IV standards in terms of COD, ammonia nitrogen, and other indicators. Currently, there is no longer any obvious red color on the water surface, and no fish deaths have been reported.
The official announcement sparked doubt among netizens: “Is it that they have not found the pollution or that they found it but are afraid to disclose it?” “Pollution in Guali Town is severe. Every time I drive by, I have to keep the car windows closed.” “There is a foul odor in the air near Guali, which can even be smelled near Yangxun Bridge.” “In Guali, those in the know understand it all; it’s just that they mishandled it this time.” “As long as the money is right, there won’t be any pollution issues. I haven’t noticed anything.” “No need for testing, the water quality is satisfactory.” “It cannot be considered normal. Even if you provide me with a test report, I won’t believe it. The Duck Neck incident has already proven that all test reports are unreliable.”
In recent years, incidents of Chinese rivers turning red have occurred frequently.
On the morning of May 10, 2022, a river in Tianlin County, Baise, Guangxi suddenly turned red.
On May 20, 2024, a section of the Chenjiang River in Chenjiang Town, Zhongkai High-tech Zone, Huizhou City, Guangdong Province, turned red, resulting in fish deaths.
On May 30, 2024, in the vicinity of Cuozhusi in Songpan County, Aba Prefecture, Sichuan Province, a river section displayed an unusually red color, leading to concern. A netizen commented, “I’m not sure if this is the beginning of an apocalypse, but this river water truly looks like blood. It’s terrifying!”