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This article appeared in the Guardian on Saturday March 01 2008 on p29 of the International section. It was last updated at 00:13 on March 01 2008.
When seven white swans made a home on the Chaobai river in north-east Beijing last year, it was hailed as an Olympic success story. Until a few years ago, the waterway was so exploited that the bed was cracked dry.
Now the river has been refilled and the wildlife brought back, ready for rowing events in August. For Beijing, it was a showcase of how the “green” games can improve the environment. But four months on green activists are asking whether this and other cosmetic clean-ups are depriving arid regions of water during a particularly severe drought.
Thanks to a huge diversion, the Shunyi Olympic rowing park project has turned a dry river and its banks into a lush resort with a water surface of 63 hectares (155 acres) and a green area of 53 hectares. It is not the only hydro-engineering facelift. Beijing is diverting millions of gallons of water to ensure this dry and dusty city looks its best during the Olympics. Workers are rushing to complete a huge canal that will channel water from the Yangtze and other rivers in southern China to the parched but densely populated north.

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