Fiction: Group 3
What Happened in the Pearl River Delta?
Immaculate Heart of Mary College, Leung, Sin Lam - 12, Fiction: Group 3
ello, my name is Catherine. I am a sparrow. I have brown feathers, a pair of black little eye like
sesame and a little cute beak. I live in Dongguan, a southern part in Guandong China. Last
year, my parents had a serious sickness because they ate some polluted food shortly after we
settled down to this new home. We are new immigrates as we had been lived in Beijing, a place in
northern part of China where it is very cold in the winter time. We decided to move far to the south
because we hope that there will be more food and milder in weather. When the time we just arrived, we
thought that Dongguan is a great place to be our new home. Here is a big city which acts as a centre for
different kinds of industries which include garment manufacturing, foot wear manufacturing and trading
etc. It is also a famous of entertainment city that stays crowd and busy at night time. you can see neon
lights everywhere in the city.
As we have already been in this city, we have no plan to go back to the north. Besides I have to take
well care of my parents. I tried to find out the reason why the food here makes my parent sick. One day,
I flew over the city and looked around to see what the people are doing in the daytime and how they are
living. Also I met some new friends when I was solving my problem in this trip, which I realized that
they were facing the same problems, environmental pollution, like me. The air quality in Dongguan is
not better than Beijing because there are a lot of factories. The exhausted gas emission from the factories
here caused air pollution. We felt suffocated while flying over these factories, to stay long in such places
will make one get sick easily.
When I started my flight, I looked up to the sky, but the sky was grey, not blue. I was really shocked about
that. How can people harm the nature so seriously? I think the reason of the air pollution is firstly there are
more factories in Dongguan. And the fuel which the factories used is cheap and unclean. They polluted the
air so much. Then I fly into the city to look what the people usually do there were many people. I saw they
were chatting and playing. But most of them work in the factories. So the people are like to build more and
more factories because many people are workers. They work in the factories all day. But the air pollution
won’t pollute our food so I don’t think this is not the reason why my parents are sick. So I fly to another
place to find my answer.
Then I flew to the seaside near the river . I saw some trucks there unloading the rubbish into the sea!
Where not far from there in the sea, I saw a few fishing boats fishing there. I can’t believe people can do
this to cause sea pollution. The coastal water is floating with plastic bags, metal cans, even food. The
animals in the sea are very poor, they will die by eating these toxic rubbish. At that time, I met my first
friend, he is a crab calledJacky. He has the problem like me, his family has a serious sickness because they ate
the plastic bags and bottles. Jacky is really worried about it. He doesn’t know how to do can save his parents.
He like to join the adventure with me. We will find out the reason of our parents sick.
After I met Jacky the crab, we went to the park to see the buildings of Dongguan. The buildings there
are high and they are close to each other. It is like a big screen in front of us.
Jacky said, “These building, will block the wind so birds will find it hard to fly.” We rest for a while and
share our live habit and family members. When we start to fly over the city, we meet another sparrow, she is
called Cassidy. She says she has lived in Dongguan for a long time. Jacky and I tell her our problem. She
said,’Dongguan isn’t the worst place before. After the people build high buildings and factories, the air
becomes worst and worst. But now still there are some places here not having these high buildings yet, do
you want me to take you there?’ I am very excited that I have met a new friend now. We fly about an hour
to go there. Although it is exhausting but I think there must be a beautiful place. After we arrive, Jacky and
I are amazed. High montains, river and forests. ‘Why doesn’t this place have high buildings and factories,
then how do the people live?’I asked. Cassidy replied,’ It isn’t a city here, this place is a country. People live
by farming and fishing, even trading. So here doesn’t have any pollution yet.’ The air in this place is really
fresher. I wish I can live here but now my parents are too weak to fly.
Jacky said,’ We can have some ideas to let your parents move here. I can ask my friends in the river to
help know some fish friends, they are friendly. I will get a big piece of banana leaf to form a boat, then your
parents can have a ride on it, our friends they are Billy and Nicole will safeguard them to make sure they
will have a safety ride on the water without falling into the river. We all thought this is a great idea so we
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