What is "shangba"

Shangba is a village of about 3,300 people administered by Xinjiang Town in Wengyuan County, Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province, China. It is an agricultural village, with rice and sugar cane being major crops. In 2007 the village acquired the nickname China's "Village of Death" due to the extremely high incidence of cancer in its population.

In addition, the local river, the Hengshui River, known locally as "The Dead River", is Shangba's only water supply, has become so polluted that it is endangering the of those living nearby. One of the major pollutants in the river and well water is lead, which a provincial research institute reported as being present in the well water at some fifteen times what the national government set as a maximum acceptable rate for drinking water.

The presumed source of the pollution is the Dabaoshan Mine for zinc, once Asia's largest mine for this mineral. The village's crops are also highly contaminated.