Is the water in china clean???

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China Guru

Drinking water is fine as long as you drink bottled water. But other than that, no. Many people will boil the water first, but that is not recommended any longer.

China is one of the most polluted countries in the world today. Just two years ago there was a benzene spill from a factory into a major international river, called the Song Hua River in China, that flowed into Russia. Russia demanded that China be responsible. That is in my immediate region. There have been similar situations occurring in other parts of the country for a long time. China is having a hard time managing the pollution problem that they have let get out of hand. Now, the pollution from China is starting to effect the whole world.

just plain jim

China is considered a third world country (albeit they are emerging from that) and all third world as well as many first world, it is dangerous to drink tap water. Bottle water or filtered water in the central part of China is fine. Get closer to the coast and bottle water is your only source because of industrial pollution, heavy metals and chemicals.

I am not sold on the safety of bottle water however. The chemicals in the bottles themselves (plastics) could have long term health consequences. Plus of course the manufacturers who cuts corners and passes off pure when it is not. The laws are in place in China in that respect, but the enforcement infrastructure is lacking.

Even in the USA, consumer protection laws are common, but the under funding of enforcement programs and lack of oversight officials is a common problem. This is an area that the press needs to step up stories in the west. While in the USA, occasionally stories get out of higher bacteria counts in bottle water as opposed to tap, the press is not doing a good job informing and what they do inform us on is usually based on scare tactics and taking conclusions out of context and burying the real conclusion in the story. In another words, sex up the story to get the people to read, AKA tabloid journalism.

Peace

Jim

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snoopy l

Access to clean water is a huge problem for China. Industrialization has ruined many sources of water especially in rural or heavily industrial areas. It's one of the major challenges this country faces. (I assure you people here would rather have clean water and food than Attack America With Nukes or whatever.)

OK, some people here may not agree but I've researched this issue before: In Beijing, the tap water is OK if you boil it first.

I think it actually tastes better than the tap water in LA.
The water is purified to a very high standard at water purification centers. But once it hits the water pipe system, the pipes taking it to your tap can be very old -- this is actually where the water gets picks up mineral build up. It's not industrial waste in your tap water!

The government here recently said water was safe to drink straight out of the tap:
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSPEK35414220070702?feedType=RSS

I filter tap water and boil it. I also keep on hand a supply of bottled water. I always drink bottled water when I am outside.

But I have been known to drink water from the tap sometimes. I have never been ill (no stomach problems.) Hopefully I didn't damage too many chromosomes either.

Chinese people in general boil their water first, but this is also because traditionally they like to drink hot tea, and they even prefer warm water to drinking iced drinks. Even though cold drinks are becoming more fashionable now, people will always have a thermos of hot water nearby.

Even bottled water is often just treated tap water -- the Pepsi brand of water, Dasani, is exactly this.

Joriental

I'm afraid of saying this but I doubt the quality.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Cardboard-bun_hoax
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_safety_in_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China

flywithyou

try some bottled water with brand such as Nongfu Spring, Waston's, waterman. If you go to Shanghai or other big cities in China( Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, etc), it's no need to worry about the water. Or, you may choose 'evian' in the supermarkets.

RicMon87

i heard you have to be cautious, and by bottled-water.

moonshadow

NO! Drink bottled, after bathing I didn't feel clean, my soap didn't lather up like it does here in the UK either. I didn't feel clean until after my 2nd bath once home.

Aileen HK

For drinking water, as all other answerers said, you are not supposed to drink tap water directly. What I have experienced is when I lived in Guangzhou, I used bottled water for cooking or brushing my teeth! They put some chemicals in the water tank of the building and the water smells werid even it gets boiled!

dreamweaver

NO!! I only drank and boiled water from bottled water during my entire 3 1/2 years stay in Shanghai. The tap water tasted funny even when you have boiled and added coffee or tea to it.

May C

which part of china u mean? im living in HK, here is always clean and safe, but we don't drink directly fm the tap. we boil it, not because the water not clean. is HK have many building, the water run into the tap before need to pass throught the pipe. and the pipe may have some iron decay..so boil it before drink.

And bring water to restaurant is inconvenience/ not necessary. China not liking other poor developed country. (if you go to Shanghai, Beijing, everything is ok. of course u need to bring yr own water while going to village, lol)

Ian C

Nope, I only drank bottled water or Evian.

thinker

if you are refering to the tap water...........no.

always make sure you boil the tap water first either for drinking or cooking.

Summer0007

Drinking processed water in China is absolutely safe. it is nothing like what you would experience in other developing countries, (i.e. While staying in a 4 star hotel in India, water out of faucet even had rusts). Just don't drink water directly from the lakes and rivers. ..common sense.

As far as pollution is concerned..... well, I live in the states( a metropolitan area in the New England region) with miles and miles of forests in the area. However, we are still told not to drink the water even eat the fish from the lakes here. Pollution is inevitable during the industrialization. China is not an exception. Ppl seem to forget the fact that US is still world's No.1 producer of the green house gases and other pollution materials.

aznjenny28

out of bottle or being boiled is fine. other than that do not drink it. most of the water is polluted. its okay to take shower but not for drink, unless you want to get sick.

sexy man

maybe

Anthony W

No, like the other guy said. Bottled is fine but the tap water is filled with crazy chemicals and stuff. I suggest you bring bottled water to restaurants too, cause the drinks there might be contaminated also. If you plan on buying milk there, then you have to microwave it or boil it, it's not sterilized. I was raised there and i know. You do not want to go home sitting on the toilet for an hour.

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