Setting the scene: An artist crafts a lengthy relief sculpture at the Foshan Artistic Ceramic Plant on Oct. 27. As beautiful as Chinese ceramics can be, they have been blamed for ugly acid rain in Guangdong’s Pearl River Delta region. In the first half of 2008, 53 percent of rainfalls in Guangdong met the pH criteria for acid rain, a 7 percentage point increase over the same period in 2007. Foshan is one of the delta cities with the most serious acid rain, which lowers crop yields and kills animals in rivers and lakes due to increased acidity of soil and water. Emissions from motor vehicles and power plants also contribute to the problem.