China has some stunningly beautiful natural landscapes, but they may not count for much when, in other parts of the country, pollution runs totally unchecked. These shocking photos show what severe pollution people have to deal with in some parts of China.

Beijing and other parts of China have already become notorious for their incessant clouds of smog, which present very real health risks to anyone not wearing dust masks. Unregulated dumping in various rivers throughout China is fairly common, as many of the photos in this series help illustrate.

Chinese leaders have vowed to get serious on air pollution, but change will be difficult in a country whose industry has expanded so rapidly. If you have any photos illustrating these difficulties, please add them to this list.

(h/t: allthatisinteresting)

Click here & follow us for more lists, facts, and stories.

#1 Fake Hong Kong Skyline For Tourists

© Photo:

#2 Fishermen Row A Boat In The Algae-filled Chaohu Lake In Hefei, Anhui Province

© Photo: Jianan Yu

#3 Girl Walks Through Smog In Beijing, Where Small-Particle Pollution Is 40 Times Over International Safety Standard

© Photo: Kyodo News

#4 Child Drinks Water From Stream In Fuyuan County, Yunnan Province

© Photo: Reuters

#5 Boy Swims In Algae-filled Water, Qingdao, Shandong

© Photo: Reuters

#6 Journalist Takes A Sample Of Red Polluted Water From The Jianhe River

© Photo: Reuters

#7 Labourer Tries To Clean Up Oil From Water, Dalian, Liaoning

© Photo: Reuters

#8 Workers Try To Drain Sewage Water From Leaking Sewage Tank, Shanghang, Fujian

© Photo: Reuters

#9 Buildings In Beijing Surrounded By Smog

© Photo: China FotoPress

#10 Boy Tries To Avoid Scattered Rubbish Floating On A Flooded Street In Shantou, Guangdong Province

© Photo: Reuters

#11 Pollution From A Factory In Yutian, 100km East Of Beijing

© Photo: Peter Parks

#12 Workers Clean Up Floating Garbage On The Yangtze Rive

© Photo: Reuters

#13 Dead Fish In Water Filled With Blueish Algae, East Lake, Wuhan

© Photo: Reuters

#14 Woman Collects Plastic Bottles Near River Polluted By Reddish Dye

© Photo: lu palmerini

#15 Man Walks By Pipe Discharging Waste Water Into Yangtze River

© Photo: William Hong

#16 Great Wall Of China, Shame.

#17 Heavily Polluted River In Jiaxing, Zhejiang

© Photo: Reuters

#18 Child Jumps Over Trash At A Village, Jiaxing

© Photo: William Hong

#19 Fisherman Fills His Palms With Water From The Algae-filled Chaohu Lake In Hefei

© Photo: Reuters

#20 Factory Polluting The Air

© Photo: Reuters

#21 Fisherman Covered In Algae, Chaohu Lake

© Photo: Reuters

#22 Woman Walks On Bridge Over Polluted River, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province

© Photo: Carlos Barria

#23 Fishermen Collecting Fish In A Polluted Canal, Beijing

© Photo: David Gray

#24 Workers Collect Dead Fish At A Park In Shenzhen, Guangdong Province

© Photo: Reuters

#25 A Street Dog Naps Amoungst The Garbage – Northern China.

#26 Residents Look At A Heavily Polluted River, Zhugao, Sichuan province

© Photo: independent.co.uk

#27 The Price Of Rapid Industrialization – Western China’s Xinjiang Province

#28 Morning Smog In Beijing

© Photo: Brielle Cardieri

#29 Workers Clean Up Leaked Oil After An Oil Pipeline Explosion, Qingdao, Shandong

© Photo: Reuters

#30 Fishermen Clean Up Oil At Oil Spill Near Dalian Port, Liaoning Province

© Photo: Reuters

#31 Smog In Beijing

© Photo: AFP

#32 Heavily Polluted Lake In China

© Photo: Bert van Dijk

#33 Flies Gather On Railings Because Of Polluted Water, East Lake, Wuhan

© Photo: Reuters

#34 Fishermen Brave Heavy Smog Over A Natural Beauty Spot – Jixian, Tianjin.

#35 Great Wall Of China, Call It “great”?

#36 Smog Particles Mix With Fog And Settle At Ground Level In An Early Morning Freeze – Tianjin.

#37 Heavily Polluted River

#38 Beautiful Blue Skies, Li River November 2012

#39 Pollution In Beijing From The Seventeenth Floor

#40 Discarded Chemicals Seep In To The Soil – Pamir Mountain Range, Xinjiang.

#41 Корову милку подоил

You might also like: 68 People Share Bizarre Facts They’ve Learned That Are Actually True