{"id":12504,"date":"2016-10-07T02:00:05","date_gmt":"2016-10-07T01:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saporedicina.com\/english\/?p=12504"},"modified":"2020-08-19T05:09:17","modified_gmt":"2020-08-19T04:09:17","slug":"smog-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saporedicina.com\/english\/smog-in-china\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Learned to Stop Worrying and &#8220;Love&#8221; the Smog in China"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/7X0bRMVatAM?modestbranding=1&amp;autohide=1&amp;showinfo=0&amp;rel=0\" width=\"700\" height=\"416\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>This article was written by Taylor Hartwell of <a href=\"http:\/\/reorientyourself.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Re Orient Yourself<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve ever visited China, been on the internet, or read a newspaper, you might be aware that there\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/4155365\/china-red-alert-smog\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a bit of an air quality issue here<\/a>. And by \u201cissue,\u201d I mean choking layers of toxic smog that make the wasteland of Mad Max look like an appealing tourist destination. <\/p>\n<p>Yes, everyone knows China has messed-up air, but what\u2019s it actually like? H<a href=\"https:\/\/www.saporedicina.com\/english\/living-working-beijing-guide\/\" >aving lived in Beijing<\/a> for the past few years, I\u2019m here to offer my (hopefully unbiased) perspective on how we got here, what the smog is really like, and what potential visitors to the country ought to know.<\/p>\n<h2>Is is really that bad?<\/h2>\n<p>You mean <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2015\/dec\/21\/beijings-smog-red-alert-enters-third-day-as-toxic-haze-shrouds-city\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">like this<\/a>? Well, occasionally. I\u2019ve been here two years, and in that time there have only been a handful of days up at the crazy \u201cred-alert\u201d level. But although those days do exist &#8211; those Silent Hill-looking pictures of Tiananmen Square certainly aren\u2019t photoshopped \u2013 they\u2019re the exception rather than the rule. As with many things, the worst case scenario version you see in the headlines isn\u2019t exactly representative of daily life.<\/p>\n<p>Before you start suspecting me of being a member of the CPC\u2019s propaganda team, let me be clear: there\u2019s no question that Beijing and many other major Chinese cities have horrendous air pollution. The quality of the air is, on average, far worse than any American or European city \u2013 especially in the winter, when the state-controlled central heating is on and everyone is walking and biking less. <strong><!--more--><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not at all unusual for there to be a noticeable haze; often to the point where visibility is significantly decreased.  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.saporedicina.com\/english\/living-in-shanghai\/\" >And this is just places like Beijing and Shanghai<\/a> \u2013 far from the most polluted cities in the country. Although they don\u2019t get nearly as much (or any, really) media attention, it\u2019s power-plant-adjacent cities like Baoding that get the worst of it. The point is, it\u2019s not good. <\/p>\n<p>But there are plenty of nice days as well. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.saporedicina.com\/english\/things-to-do-in-beijing-alternative-plans\/\" >The last month in Beijing<\/a> has been basically nothing but beautiful blue days \u2013 and let me tell you, I\u2019ve never more deeply and sincerely appreciated nice weather more than I do now. I\u2019m aware that\u2019s kind of like eating dirt for a month and then gushing over a normal home-cooked meal, but I\u2019ll be damned if it isn\u2019t true. <\/p>\n<p>Of course, not everyone shares my hopeless optimism, and the air quality has done damage to more than just China\u2019s citizens. You don\u2019t need to be a social scientist to realize that it drives away tourism, and China is having more trouble than ever <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-china-pollution-survey-idUSBREA2I0KU20140319\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">retaining the kind of talent necessary<\/a> to keep foreign companies operating in the country. <\/p>\n<h2>So how did this happen? <\/h2>\n<p>That\u2019s pretty simple, broadly speaking. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.saporedicina.com\/english\/best-anti-pollution-air-masks\/\" >China has some of the worst air pollution<\/a> for the same reason it has such bad traffic \u2013 they\u2019ve got the world\u2019s biggest population and have squeezed a hundred years of industrialization and development into the past few decades. Since there\u2019s no real elections or accountability for the government, the CPC has gotten its legitimacy from results \u2013 and for year after year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/china-economic-growth-slows-to-6-9-on-year-in-2015-1453169398\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">even the slowest growth rates<\/a> they\u2019ve delivered are pretty incredible. Mere percentages to read about in the Wall Street Journal for us, perhaps, but we\u2019re talking about a government that \u2013 by whatever means \u2013 has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/economics-blog\/2015\/aug\/19\/china-poverty-inequality-development-goals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">lifted more people out of poverty<\/a> than anyone else in the world.  <\/p>\n<p>And how did they do it? Huge construction projects. Enormous power plants. Becoming the Factory of the World. They built and they mined and they built and as a result millions and millions of people got to feed their families. And in doing so, they became both the largest producers and consumers of coal in the world. They also built roads and filled them with millions of cars. And for most of that time, no one worried much about what was happening to the environment; that was a problem for the future and they had plenty of problems to deal with in the present. <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not here to apologize for the CPC, nor am I here to condemn them. It can be argued just as convincingly that they should have paid more attention to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theglobalist.com\/london-beijing-polluted-tale-two-cities\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">lessons of history<\/a> while building up the country and invested more into renewable tech and such. But for what it\u2019s worth, that\u2019s my basic understanding of how we got from A to B. Or rather, \u201cA\u201d to \u201cgood-god-I-can\u2019t-Breathe.\u201d <\/p>\n<h2>Ok, so what if I want to visit? Is it going to kill me? How can I protect myself?<\/h2>\n<p>Short answer: Come visit! You\u2019ll be fine, seriously. Aim for fall or spring if possible \u2013 that way the temperature will be pleasant if nothing else \u2013 and relax. Thousands of abroad students survive the smog every semester; even Zuckerberg managed to cheat death on his little <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/03\/19\/world\/asia\/mark-zuckerberg-jogging-beijing-smog.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tiananmen smog-jog stunt<\/a>. That\u2019s to say nothing of the hundreds of millions of urban Chinese who manage to foil media expectations every day by obstinately not dropping dead.<\/p>\n<p>But hey, I hear you. I was concerned too \u2013 in fact, the smog was the one thing that almost kept me from moving here in the first place. <a href=\"https:\/\/aqicn.org\/mask\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Here<\/a> is a selection of the best masks on the market that is unaffiliated with any of the companies. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.myhealthbeijing.com\/pollution\/how-to-choose-an-air-purifier-in-china\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Here<\/a> is a nice extensive article about home air purifiers from a Beijing expat with a human budget. And here is my practical advice: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Don\u2019t do your HIIT cardio sessions outside on red-alert days;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Don\u2019t go climb the 1000-step section of the Great Wall if you can\u2019t see the top;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Get the US Embassy air quality app. The Chinese media is not overly invested in telling you the truth;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Shower often and thoroughly. I doubt this helps in any physical way, but it sure makes you feel better. Of course, you want to avoid getting the tap water in your mouth, but that\u2019s a whole other thing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Fine, I\u2019ll visit. But what about long-term health effects? Aren\u2019t you worried about cancer\/black lung\/the plague?<\/h2>\n<p>This one\u2019s harder to answer; I\u2019m not a medical professional and obviously I\u2019m biased in what I want the answer to be, so I\u2019ll keep this bit short and to the point. <\/p>\n<p>No, living in Beijing or similar is not like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.economist.com\/china\/2015\/08\/15\/mapping-the-invisible-scourge\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">smoking 40 cigarettes a day<\/a>. Why am I so sure of that? Because it\u2019s goddamn ridiculous, that\u2019s why. I\u2019ve smoked maybe 3 cigarettes in my life, and every single time I\u2019ve woken up the next day feeling like I screamed myself hoarse. The worst a smoggy day here has ever done is irritate my throat a bit. If that seems unscientific \u2013 probably because it is \u2013 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.myhealthbeijing.com\/china-public-health\/a-day-in-beijing-is-like-smoking-only-one-sixth-of-a-cigarette-its-almost-disappointing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here is an article from an actual doctor<\/a> who\u2019s actually done his homework and actually lives and works here. Every doctor I\u2019ve seen in the past two years has told me that my lungs are just fine, and that frankly I should be more concerned about the state of my liver. <\/p>\n<p>Because this is obviously a serious issue, I\u2019ve sought out multiple western doctors in Beijing to get their thoughts on the subject and \u2013 although I don\u2019t have a citation for this \u2013 they\u2019ve all told me more or less the same thing: living here isn\u2019t great for your lungs, but with adequate precautions (i.e. mask and purifier) your additional incurred cancer risk over a few years is pretty minimal. <\/p>\n<p>Of course, they\u2019re probably biased towards optimism just as I\u2019m biased towards believing them. But honestly, this strikes me as a case of people worrying about what they can\u2019t control rather than working on what they can. Every day, millions of people smoke cigarettes, drive cars, and eat at those Pizza Hut\/Taco Bell combo places. If you are considering moving to China and find yourself worrying about the pollution issue, I urge you to consider this: how many potentially life-shortening choices do you make on a daily basis that don\u2019t involve having the adventure of a lifetime? <\/p>\n<p>\u2026too real. Moving on!<\/p>\n<h2>So\u2026 is there any hope for the future? <\/h2>\n<p>Actually, yes! In my time here, the air quality has gotten noticeably (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2016\/jan\/05\/beijing-air-quality-improved-in-2015-despite-pollution-alerts-authorities-say\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">and measurably<\/a>) better. In fact \u2013 although I may change my tune with the arrival of winter \u2013 it really has been quite some time since I\u2019ve seriously referred to Beijing as the \u201cairpocalypse.\u201d The machinations of the CPC are always a mystery, but it\u2019s safe to say that improving air quality has been pretty high on their to-do list ever since the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/worldviews\/wp\/2013\/02\/28\/the-most-shocking-photo-of-beijing-air-pollution-ive-ever-seen\/?noredirect=on\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">embarrassment of 2013<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>The nice thing about a government that brooks no opposition is that they can solve problems just as freakishly quickly as they can create them. Just look at what they managed <a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2015\/09\/04\/asia\/china-beijing-blue-sky-disappears-after-military-parade\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">for their big military parade last fall<\/a> \u2013 and how quickly things went back to normal. Between complete control of the factories and their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-china-24566288\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">license plate lottery system<\/a>, it\u2019s clear that having the right tools isn\u2019t the government\u2019s problem \u2013 it\u2019s finding a way to clean up the skies without losing control over the land under them. <\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, a simple mask is all you need to enjoy the Mysterious East worry-free! Just don\u2019t drink the water, eat the wrong street food, express the wrong opinion in public, or get into the wrong kind of cab\u2026<\/p>\n<p>One problem at a time, friends. One problem at a time. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This article was written by Taylor Hartwell of Re Orient Yourself If you\u2019ve ever visited China, been on the internet, or read a newspaper, you might be aware that there\u2019s a bit of an air quality issue here. And by \u201cissue,\u201d I mean choking layers of toxic smog that make the wasteland of Mad Max [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":23844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[101],"class_list":["post-12504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-live-in-china","tag-travel-in-china"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Survive the Smog and Air Pollution in China<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Everything you need to know about air pollution in China\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saporedicina.com\/english\/smog-in-china\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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