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The sad part is, 400 is not uncommon in Beijing (particularly in the winter) and nobody besides expats seem to complain.

Those masks in the picture are useless, though. You need to use the 3M 8511 or 9211 or similar. (And in addition to making the air breathable, they also help with allergies).

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I was in Beijing a few weeks ago when the AQI was in the mid to high 200s. While it looked nasty, what really surprised me was that I couldn't really sense that I was breathing polluted air – it didn't smell bad and it wasn't difficult to inhale. The only indicator that I was breathing bad air was the cough I developed after a week in the city. I attributed it to a traveling cold but it quickly went away when I returned to the relatively clean Manhattan air.

We've had up to 700+ this year in Beijing. The "standard", almost everyday 200+ makes it hard to do any sport... 700 was barely breathable. The situation here really deserves attention such as the one in Singapore it getting right now.

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