Continuing the Commonly Asked Questions series based on questions people give me about China. While it may not answer everything, I hope that it will clear up some big misconceptions people have about this beautiful country. You can find the first part “Is China Safe: the Size/Language Issue Here.
CAQ #2: Is China Safe?!? ~ the Health Issue: Pollution
Yes, this is really what my city looks like some days
Concern: China is a scary place with backdoor doctors, unsanitary practices, horrifying pollution, and dangerous hazards lying around everywhere.
I’ll start by addressing Pollution in this post~ the biggest concern for most people. Is there pollution in China? ~ Yes, of course there is. There is also a lot of pollution in the US, Korea, Japan, England, India, etc. Is smog a problem? ~ Yes, smog can be a bad problem, especially on certain days. The worst of the smog arrives when we haven’t had rain in a while (Henan had a drought this year, so that didn’t help), when they burn off the fields in the fall, and when the machines are running extra long at the local factories. There are certain days when skyscrapers right in front of you completely disappear and you can taste the acid in the air. I’d say that’s been about 7-8 days in my first semester here in China (Aug-Feb). It can be really, really bad.
My City Today
Of course, I live in Zhengzhou which is one of the worst cities in China, so I can’t measure the rest of China by that. You can see a rating every day for most Chinese cities’ pollution level here, and Zhengzhou is always pretty bad. But if Zhengzhou is the worst they have to offer, I don’t think the problem is as prevalent as people believe.
First, I’d like to say (and I’ll probably repeat this in later posts), a large part of your ability to withstand the smog depends on your own body. Personally, I generally suffer from serious skin sensitivity and asthma; one bad day in the US will knock me out. But in China, I’m actually the healthiest I’ve been in a while. My skin clears up, my asthma goes away, I suffer fewer headaches, I’m breathing much better. Others are the opposite; they’re fine in the States and then get landblasted with respiratory illnesses here. I think a lot of it is dependent on how your body likes certain environments. Mine seems to like China.
Furthermore, as far as actual pollution goes, it isn’t like every single day I am terrified of walking out the door. Only about 2-3 days this semester have I been unwilling to leave without a mask.There is also the fact that Zhengzhou has coal mines not to far away ~ and that always adds to the issue, just look at the coal towns in West Virginia. We have to dust about twice a week to clean the black off everything, especially outside windows. That gives me a few concerns about Black Lung or something similar, but it’s my own fault for choosing to live so close to the coal mines.
Seeing the sun in a bright blue sky is a pretty rare sight around here, but we do get it, especially after a rain. And I can see the stars many nights, so long as the fireworks haven’t smoked the place up. I breath fine for the most part, although I know some people who struggle. They do have masks everywhere; you can always pick one up to help you out. I personally never really use them unless it’s during the crop burning week.
One nice part about China is that the people here are incredibly health conscious and actively work to clean the mess up.Even big factory owners know that their children have to breathe in ‘the air they create; it provides a lot of incentive to clean the mess up. ‘They are truly worried about the situation, and there are constant
discussions on how to eliminate or guard yourself against the threat posed by air pollution. They have extremely advanced masks, they make sure that everyone knows what days to avoid going outside and what days it’s okay. They are constantly planting trees, bushes, shrubs, and adding water in an effort to combat the problem and reoxygenate the air. Zhengzhou even bought a “Smog Machine!” It goes around the streets spraying water in an effort to cleanse the air. 🙂
If you move further out of the big cities, the problem isn’t half as bad anyway.
So maybe some cities in China are worse than most of the United States, but they are working with millions more factories, mines, people and other pollution causing issues. As my student’s say, just look at the advancements they have already made in eliminating causation factors. Give them a few more years, and they will probably have advanced in leaps and bounds. They like their clean air, and generally the Chinese are a stubborn/innovative set. If they want clean air, they’ll find a way to get it. It just takes time and patience, and a willingness to wear a mask every so often till the problem is fixed.
Deceptively Blonde 