'The water is poison': Chinese activist spends life protecting polluted lake

Zhang has successfully faced down hundreds of companies on the banks of one of China's most polluted lakes. Photos: Jade Gao/AFP

Environmental activist Zhang Zhengxiang is almost blind, and lives in poverty – but he has successfully faced down hundreds of companies on the banks of one of China's most polluted lakes.

The 74-year-old strident campaigner has spent his life trying to protect the sprawling Lake Dian in southwestern China, challenging businesses to clean up their act around the local beauty spot and reporting those who pollute it.