Air Pollution in China

So far from what I have read, there is air pollution in all the big cities in China.

So how do you protect yourself to avoid getting sick or coming back with a respiratory illness? Will a mask that goes over your mouth and nose help?

The degree can vary depending on where you are and when. We've been there (Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai & Xiamen) in March & October and had no problem...and didn't wear a mask or worry about this.

A mask is recommended, but when it's bad they recommend you stay indoors.

I think it will be best that we bring our own masks, just in case. Thank you for your replies.

There are plenty of reports on travel forums about people bringing masks. I have yet to read about anybody using them.

Beijing, December 2015 (business trip) Several days in a row of very bad air quality. Never had a problem (nor brought a mask) for my trips to Shanghai.

For Beijing air quality, I follow the US Consulate twitter feed: https://twitter.com/BeijingAir

Just recently at Staples Center (Los Angeles) and when we exited there was a large group of Chinese on a tour and they all had on mask's...It was a beautiful warm (hot) clear day....Seems like they think the same about our air and took precautions ;)

Just recently at Staples Center (Los Angeles) and when we exited there was a large group of Chinese on a tour and they all had on mask's...It was a beautiful warm (hot) clear day....Seems like they think the same about our air and took precautions ;)

I think they are used to wearing the mask. I have seen them wearing them in Florida and it's a hot bright sunny day. It's part of their daily lives. I will probably get one just in case. I do have a friend that went to China and told me that he felt the results of the pollution in his nostrils every night. Prefer not to go into details. There is also a post about a group that went and out of 12 only 2 did not get sick with a respiratory illness.

We did a 21 day tour of China that included a four day river cruise. It was wonderful, but the air pollution was terrible. Beijing wasn't too bad, but everywhere else, in the cities, the pollution kept you from seeing a lot of the city.

We didn't wear masks. We saw many people in Hong Kong wearing masks. We were told that HK is so polluted due to air coming from the mainland.

I too have seen plenty of Chinese tourists wearing masks overseas, as well as at home. As travelovers posted, it's part of their daily lives.

The folk from HK are right that nearby mainland China pumps out stax of pollution. I saw the difference during two visits just ten years apart, between HK and Guangzhou ("Canton" if you have a very old school atlas ;)).

First time the road was quiet, with paddy-fields either side. :)

Second time the road was gridlocked & had wall-to-wall factories both side virtually the whole way. And air pollution to match. :(

But HK can't put all the blame on China To a large extent it's self-inflicted.

All very reminiscent of LA and London 30 years ago.

No, we didn't wear masks - few visitors to China / HK do.

Residents of course are faced with the air pollution on a daily basis. I'm absolutely no doctor but I can understand their desire to avoid the risk of long-term damage. And mebbe you should wear a mask if you have breathing problems anyway, cos the pollution would surely exacerbate the problems.

But for most visitors I doubt the limited exposure would be problematic.

JB :)

The pollution can vary with the weather. When we were in Beijing in early March, the first few days had terrible pollution but then a cold front went through and the air cleared. There was visible pollution in Hong Kong and Shanghai and worst was Chongqing.

We did not wear masks, and I am not convinced a lot of the ones you can buy are effective. We were told many people in China wear them when they have a cold to prevent spreading it to others.

I have had to wear a mask in hospital when visiting certain patients. I hate them and for a few days in China would not worry about it. If you were living there for a long time then you would more likely need to take precautions.

"I too have seen plenty of Chinese tourists wearing masks overseas, as well as at home. As travelovers posted, it's part of their daily lives...." - It is not part of the Chinese daily lives. Very few people wear masks. None of my friends ever wear masks. I never wore one over the years when I lived in Beijing.

Japanese are the ones wearing masks all the time and Koreans to a lesser extend. Most westerners can't tell a Japanese from a Korean or a Chinese. You possibly saw Japanese tourists. Who knows.

// ....Japanese are the ones wearing masks all the time and Koreans to a lesser extend. Most westerners can't tell a Japanese from a Korean or a Chinese. You possibly saw Japanese tourists. Who knows.

In HK & Gougzhou it was certainly locals.

But elsewhere .............. well, I'm a typical dumb westerner ;).

And you could be right :o

JB :)

We toured China in April last year. The pollution was such that we never saw the sun until we cruised on the Yangtze in rural areas. We didn't wear masks at any time, and had no ill effects. However, neither of us has breathing difficulties. A few years ago DH was in hospital in Shanghai (another story). In the room next to him was a woman from UK who was asthmatic. She had left the plane and suffered a serious attack. She was still in hospital when we left. She and her husband were going to catch up with their tour at the airport to go home. Not a very successful holiday for them.

The moral of this story - anyone with respiratory problems should be very careful.

Sheila

Some Asian women try to keep their face skin "translucent" or white as much as possible so they will wear masks or use umbrellas when its sunny.

Even as to use these "executioner" style full-face masks:

http://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-beach-face-maskes-2014-8

:eek: :rolleyes:

I think I read somewhere that September and October are the months with the best air quality. I would certainly research that before I planned a trip to Asia.

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We visited China in October and it was clear and very beautiful as decorations from Golden Week were still up. No problem breathing. Coming back from the cruise Bangkok to Beijing in mid November it was cold, dense fog, "seeable" pollution that made my eyes water/react and I needed my rescue inhaler that I use two or three times a year normally. Visiting the Pearl Tower in Shanghi we went on tour up to the top. It was very easy to see through the observation windows the pollution stacked up in layers of different colors of brown and grey and darker. We were high enough to be above most of the pollution hanging over the city. I am a true believer in world pollution from seeing these things on our travels.

Another huge concern for me is seeing the masses of trash and plastics floating in really remote locations far from land but showing what man has thrown on the beaches or watershed. Can't imagine that this is not causing harm to all the creatures dependent on the water for life.

For those concerned about air pollution in China, I recommend the "Air Quality China" app for your smartphone. You can received hour-by-hour Air Quality Index (AQI) readings for cities throughout China.

You can then make a sensible judgement on whether or not to wear a mask.

For example, at this moment in Shanghai the reading is, amazingly, "46", or "Healthy" which we don't see all that often here. I think I'll step outside and take a nice deep breath.

Asians wearing masks may not be totally because of the air pollution situation. Many people wear them to avoid getting sick or avoid getting other people sick due to the close contacts in populated cities, like HK. Also, people may wear masks to hide their identities if they don't want to be recognized in public. :D

If you do opt for a mask, get a decent mask with filtration. A surgical mask isn't going to do you any good at all.