Infographic: 9 charts that show the level of pollution in China

NPC-CPPCC

A river in Wangli town in east China’s Zhejiang province is known as “red river” due to the high level of pollution from red dye in this October 31, 2011. (Photo by CFP)

The environmental problems that have accompanied China’s development and government efforts to resolve them dominated the first day of the annual session of the National People’s Congress, which opened on March 5 in Beijing and will last until March 15. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang expressed concerns for the environment in his government work report, calling pollution a “blight on people’s quality of life and a trouble that weighs on their hearts.”