China has taken millions of high-polluting vehicles off the roads, as the world's most populous country tackles rising levels of air pollution. Huge piles of cars, lorries and motorbikes can be seen at scrapyards across China after they were seized because they did not meet the national emissions standards.
Beijing has recorded air pollution readings of over 20 times the limit considered healthy by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Emissions from vehicles are responsible for 31.1% of air pollution in the Chinese capital.
The rise in air pollution is partly due to ever-rising vehicle sales in the country in line with improving living standards. China's Premier Li Keqiang has said tackling pollution is among the government's top priorities. In this gallery, IBTimesUK looks at vehicle graveyards across China.
A man walks through motorcycles and electric bicycles destined to be destroyed at a dump in Shenzhen, Guangdong ProvinceChinaFotoPress/Getty ImagesOld taxis are abandoned in a scrap yard in ChongqingFeng Li/Getty imagesMotorbikes are piled up at a scrapyard in Hangzhou, Zhejiang provinceChina Daily/ReutersScrapped vehicles are piled up at a parking lot used as a scrap yard in Hangzhou, Zhejiang provinceReutersA labourer disassembles motorcycles at a recycling centre in Hefei, Anhui provinceReutersScrapped motorbikes and trailers are seen piled up at a scrapyard in Binzhou, Hunan provinceReutersHigh-emission vehicles are piled up at a dump site in Yiwu, Zhejiang ProvinceChina Daily/ReutersHundreds of seized motorcycles are seen at a scrapyard in Hangzhou, Zhejiang ProvinceChinaFotoPress/Getty ImagesOld delivery vehicles are abandoned at a scrapyard in Hangzhou, Zhejiang ProvinceChinaFotoPress/Getty ImagesA worker dismantles seized motorcycles in Haikou, Hainan ProvinceAFPOld taxis are scrapped in Changsha, Hunan provinceReuters
