From Reuters:
Residents of China’s capital have been assured that their tap water is “drinkable even without being boiled,” state media reported, a breakthrough of sorts in a country where boiling drinking water is second nature.
The Beijing Waterworks Group said the 2008 Olympic host city’s water had passed 106 tests for contaminants set down in new national standards, the Xinhua news agency reported late on Sunday.
“This is a blessing for Beijing residents,” said the China news agency. “For many years now, owing to a host of environmental factors, the quality of Beijing water has been doubted by the outside world.” [Full Text]
See also: China to Raise Water Quality Standards from www.planetark.org.