Paraxylene (PX) production in Pengzhou, Sichuan, started in 2005. But the Chengdu residents didn’t begin to express their concern until the company started to choose an appropriate place in 2007. On 4th April 2013, because of the protest, the local government of Chengdu announced that the enterprise will not be allowed to produce anything until legal authorization, and the whole process will include public participation. Some people called for "TAKE A WALK" (a silent protest) on 4th May, in Tianfu square, and the police warned they would watch on the protests action. The petrochemical enterprise posted statements arguing it was "scientific" rather than "harmful" to choose Pengzhou as location. The local government of Chengdu even moved the weekend to Monday and Tuesday to prevent people's participation to the protest actions: the schools of Chengdu required the students to have class and forbid students to join the demonstration. The government closed the Tianfu square and all rooftops police had police forces watching over the streets. So the protests didn’t appeared on public places. Hundreds of protests expressed their anger and protested on the internet, all the messages on Paraxylene (PX) in Pengzhou were re posted thousands of times. And thousands of net citizens left messages in Weibo. According to internet public opinion, there were six main reasons for the protest. First of all , air pollution and water pollution. Secondly, lack of transparency on production. Thirdly, the pollution of land and water has harmful impacts on crops. Fourthly, Pengzhou is located in seismic zone. Fifthly, the period for the notice was too short. Last but not least, the project would negatively influence the cultural environment of Chengdu.

600,000 tons of producation capacity