Would you let anyone you know fish for their breakfast in this?

Lest the pageantry and scrubbed skyline of the televised Beijing Olympics lull the world into thinking local officials have finished cleaning up China, it's important to remember that much work remains to be done.

On a recent visit to Beijing, I was fascinated—in a morbid sort of way—with the river running behind my hotel, on Liangmaquio Road.