So about those pollution domes....

[oogz91]

Quick question,

 

I'm moving to Beijing in the fall. I lived in Nanjing during its worst pollution year on record, so i know what to expect, however I've heard about these pollution domes at schools like the intl school of Beijing. I was curious if anyone knows whether one of these exists for the general, paying public? I love running and not being able to in China is a real drag. I'd pay a good amount to have monthly access to these things. 

 

Thanks

[ChTTay]

I've only actually read about one school having a dome, however, it might be more now. The original article that I saw was on the Beijinger.

 

I've never seen one of these domes. They may just be in the Intl school area aroun 'Shunyi' which means that the vast majority of people live no where near them. It's quite far out from the center, near-ish the airport.

 

This year the pollution has been much better than last year. Less crazy bad days and generally more low pollution days. Hopefully this is a trend so when you arrive you can look forward to even less pollution (but still pollution).

 

As for running, my friend ran regularly over the past year in Beijing. They just wore a mask on bad days.

 

The pollution here gets exaggerated. Sure, by international standards it's still terrible a lot of the time but those photos you see with just meters of visability are taken on rare days.

[Lu]

I think living in Beijing you get used to it and your standards change. Was in Beijing recently and it felt really bad. An AQI of 150 or so wouldn't have fazed me a bit when I was living there, but now I'm used to fresh air again it was positively unpleasant, I felt the air cracking between my teeth. In Holland an AQI over 50 would be a reason to keep children indoors, and 100 would not be something to go running in, as I saw people do. It's certainly getting better, but it's a long way to go.

 

Your healthiest bet is probably to run indoors and/or with a very good mask. You could try contacting the international school in Shunyi and ask them if you can run there of course, perhaps they'll say yes.

[Johnny20270]

Best look at the  American embassy website polution index  and you can judge for your self. Don't look at anything Chinese questionable / a lie*

In the winter this will regularly rise past 400 and according to the Americans anyway this is hazardous

 
I think we all agree it somewhere from bad --> terrible
 

 

 

* interestingly, in class New Practical Chinese Reader book 3 informed me today that the highest mountain in the world is in China, Mount Everest. caused a few smirks. Really don't understand why they lie about these things. 

[imron]

Really don't understand why they lie about these things.

Because they're not lying.  From Wikipedia:

 

The international border between China and Nepal runs across Everest's precise summit point.

 

The only reason all the base camps are in Nepal is because China shut off western access to the north face way back when, and so everyone started going from the south side instead.  Earlier (pre-communist China) expeditions did start from the north side.

[Johnny20270]

Because they're not lying.  From Wikipedia:

 

 

I know that, Ok lets calling it bending the truth then. The point being, if you wanted to Climb Everest at no point do you need to ask the Chinese government for permission. They general point being, many things you hear in China require more investigation and cannot be taken at face value. such as the pollution topic.  Statements such as "Everest is in China" is misleading and leads an observer to believe that its well inside the border

 

Back on topic, I do think its getting better and the Chinese and gradually openly admitting to their issues like the pollution problem. That is very positive  

[imron]

The point being, if you wanted to Climb Everest at no point do you need to ask the Chinese government for permission

No, you don't *have* to - but you have to ask one of the Chinese government or the Nepalese government (which will set you back $10,000).  Anyway, I still think it's a fair claim, and at least as fair as saying Mt. Everest is in Nepal.  There are plenty of other natural wonders that straddle borders and just like you can say the Niagara Falls is in both Canada and the US, you can say the Mt. Everest is in Nepal/China.

[zhouhaochen]

I run in Beijing regularly and the idea to go to some kind of "pollution dome" for it sounds rather ridiculous to me. There are days when it is polluted and there are days when it is not (there are many days where the air in Beijing is better than in major European cities like London). Just run when it is not polluted (which happens regularly, though obviously that never gets reported anywhere). This spring for example almost every single day.

 

According to greenpeace it is also getting better http://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2015/07/23/chinas-air-quality-improving-greenpeace-says

 

If an AQI of +50 meant that children cannot go outside, then children in London would spend a lot of time indoors....