Scarred landscapes, piles of rubble and polluted waters... how illegal mining left a trail of devastation across a Chinese nature reserve
Photographs suggest illicit mines have taken a heavy toll on scenic beauty spot
Parts of Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve in Qinghai, west China, have reportedly been devastated by illegal mining.
A visit to the area by a reporter for The Beijing News earlier this month found evidence of large-scale environmental damage to the scenic area on the Tibetan Plateau, which is home to the sources of the Yangtze, Mekong and Yellow Rivers.
Photographs showed a landscape ravaged by illegal coal and iron mining, with dirty polluted water and open-pit mines hacked into the surrounding mountainsides.
The reporter visited three illegal mines in Yushu County, a mostly rural, sparsely populated area of Qinghai Province.
At Zhasu coal mine, rubble from explosions littered the area with much of the surrounding alpine vegetation destroyed.