One can vividly sum up the Huaihe River environment through the passing of time: Washing rice and vegetables in the 1950s; irrigating crops and washing clothes in the 1960s; water quality worsened in the 1970s; the fish and shrimp died in the 1980s; and our bodies and minds suffered in the 1990s. A large number of local villagers died from different cancers caused by the polluted water and vegetables. [Photo/Huaihe River Guardians]