Che Zhang village is also called “The CancerVillage.” As in other villages on the “Black River,” many in Che Zhang have become paralyzed on one side of their body from one day to the next, or contracted cancer. The village chief, Zhang, fifty, lives in a house at some distance from the “Black River,” but he still complains about the unbearable stench, particularly in summer. The pollution of the river brought with it large flies and gnats, whose bites leave large, red puncture marks. The houses are thus sprayed with insecticides inside and out several times during the summer. Henan Province, November 2011