The 1950s

1958-1961: Large-scale deforestation due to cultivation of wooded areas and firewood demand (backyard furnaces).

The 1960s

1960: Increasing use of tube wells for irrigation in Northern China will lead to groundwater depletion in the 1990s.

The 1970s

1970-1980: Based on a 50-year forest inventory, researchers find that between 1970 and 1980 Chinese forest expanded significantly.

1976, July: Massive earthquake (7.8 Richter scale) devastates the city of Tangshan (Hebei Province). At least 270,000 people die.

The 1980s

1989: Revision of the environmental legislation from 1979.

The 1990s

1993: Production of the pesticide DDT is officially stopped (but illegally used for several subsequent years).

1993: Widespread concerns among environmentalists about the Three Gorges Dam project.

1995, Oct.: Earthquake in Yunnan (6.5 at Richter scale). 50 people die and 6,000 are injured. 170,000 people homless.

1997, Oct.: Certain environmental offenses are treated as crime and are included in the criminal code of China.

1998: WHO reports that of the ten most polluted cities in the world, seven can be found in China.

1998: Worst flooding in years - 230 million people affected and 3,656 dead.

1998, April: One of the most devastating sandstorm in decades is raging in Beijing for two days, blocking sunlight.

The 2000s

2005, Nov.: Water supply of Harbin city is cut off after high concentration of benzene in Songhua river.

2005, Nov.: Attempts by regional government officials to cover up the water pollution catastrophe in Harbin.

2005, Nov.: Major pollution of Songhua river after explosion of petrochemical plant in Jilin city (Jilin Province).

2006, June: China surpasses the United States in carbon dioxide emissions due to fossil fuel use and cement production.

2007, Oct.: Four million people have to be resettled within the next 10 to 15 years in the Three-Gorges Dam area.

2008, May: Earthquake strikes Sichuan province: Death toll reaches 20,000.

2008, May: Death toll of May 12 earthquake rises to 40,075.

2008, June: Death toll of May 12 earthquake rises to 69,016, with more than 18,000 people still missing.

2009, Aug.: China surpasses the United States as the world's largest producer of household garbage.