If you ask Chinese people over 30 what China's largest lake is, they'll almost all respond unhesitatingly "Tungting Hu."
These days that answer's wrong. Tungting is no longer the biggest. Surprised? That's just one of many changes that have occurred to the Chinese land over the past 30 years.
Perhaps because ours is an agricultural society, the Chinese have always had a special feeling for the land--not just as the place we walk on, but as the producer of living things and the foundation of life. In this spirit, we are presenting "China: The Good Earth," a series of reports on the environmental problems facing the Chinese land, whether on the mainland, Taiwan, or Hainan Island.
This issue offers two articles concerning the Yangtze River.