BEIJING, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Strong pesticides sprayed on trees killed around 1,000 fish at a former imperial palace in Beijing, after a sudden downpour washed the chemicals into a stream, the official Xinhua agency said on Tuesday.

"The strength of the pesticide was rather high and the shallow water in the brook failed to dilute the poison content," Xinhua quoted Zong Tianliang, spokesman for the Yuan Ming Yuan Park, as saying.

The city, which next year will host tens of thousands of foreigners during the Olympic Games next summer, regularly sprays trees with pesticides, but it was not clear if the ones used at the park were employed across Beijing.

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