A huge part of Chinese culture is the concept of “face” (面子 – miàn zi). This basically means one’s reputation, and it goes for all social circles – family, friends, business, and society at large. Beijing’s horrible air pollution is notorious, and it is unfortunately one of the first things that comes to mind when the Chinese capital is brought up in conversation. For Chinese officials, the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Beijing could potentially be a giant loss of face. Just imagine Barack Obama showing up on Air Force One with all of the TV cameras running, being greeted by a disgusting, smoggy sky. This would be incredibly embarrassing for China, and the government is going to do everything in its power to make sure that it doesn’t happen.
Image by Kevin Dooley from www.flickr.com
If this seems like deja vu, it’s because this same thing happened back in 2008 in the lead up to the summer Olympics. Factories were either shut down or drastically decreased their output, half the cars were taken off the road, and over $20 billion was invested to clean up the ‘Jing before the world arrived for the games. As anyone who has been to or lived in Beijing since the Olympics ended can attest to, the clean air didn’t last for long. As a matter of fact, the pollution levels in Beijing recently hit 20 times the level considered safe. The smog stuck around for the Beijing marathon, where plenty of runners donned the famous pollution mask and quite a few backed out of the race entirely. Of course, the constant media coverage of the dangerous levels of pollution – not only in Beijing but all around the country – is a serious loss of face for China.
Although the air pollution is obviously a long-term problem, the government seems to only be capable of short-term solutions. In the run-up to the APEC summit, a number of changes have been (temporarily) put in place. Private vehicles are restricted every other day based on the license plate number, construction work has been suspended, and production in many factories has been halted. It’s not just in Beijing, though – industries in neighboring Hebei and Shandong provinces have also been affected. In addition, a surprise six-day holiday has been granted to many of the city’s residents, in hopes that they will get out of town for the big meeting. Travel agencies have been told to offer special deals for Beijingers, in hopes that more people will take a trip during this unorthodox holiday.
Not surprisingly, many people in Beijing and the surrounding areas are not too thrilled with what’s going on. Thousands of residents will be forced to find an alternative means of transportation, many homes will be quite cold throughout the week, and money will be lost by plenty of companies due to the slow-down. People are disappointed in these short-term solutions as well – everyone knows the pollution will be back in full force after the world leaders head back to their countries. One user on Weibo expressed his discontent – “They only try to do something to improve the air quality when something [important] happens. I feel it has become a project just for face. Smog will come back again once APEC finishes.”
As a former resident of Beijing, I can completely understand peoples’ frustration. Drastic moves to improve the air quality of the city are only done for short periods of time where Beijing is on the world stage. The traffic improves and pollution decreases, but only when the cameras are rolling. After big events like the Olympics or APEC, it’s right back to normal with stand-still traffic and hazardous pollution. For many people, leaving Beijing simply is not an option; I’m just glad it was one for me. We’d like to hear your opinion on this matter as well. Feel free to leave a comment to answer some of these questions:
Have you been to Beijing? What did you think of the pollution?
What should the Chinese government be doing to curb high levels of air pollution?
Would you consider living in Beijing, or would the pollution be too much to bear?
Sasha is an English teacher, writer, photographer, and videographer from the great state of Michigan. Upon graduating from Michigan State University, he moved to China and spent 5+ years living, working, studying, and traveling there. He also studied Indonesian Language & Culture in Bali for a year. He and his wife run the travel blog Grateful Gypsies, and they're currently trying the digital nomad lifestyle across Latin America.
I have been to Beijing, three times. I consider myself lucky – we didn’t get smog in any of the three occasions.
I did however experience heavy smog driving through Hunan – a result of the local government trying to clean the rivers by paying people pennies to burn their garbage. Utterly unsmart.
The government should of course impose regulations much the same as western countries do – controlled and filtered emissions. Would it raise prices of high-tech in the west? Yes. Would I care if I had to renew my gadget every other year instead of every year due to increased cost? Not at all. Not if it helped clean up China.
Comments:
Thor:
I have been to Beijing, three times. I consider myself lucky – we didn’t get smog in any of the three occasions.
I did however experience heavy smog driving through Hunan – a result of the local government trying to clean the rivers by paying people pennies to burn their garbage. Utterly unsmart.
The government should of course impose regulations much the same as western countries do – controlled and filtered emissions. Would it raise prices of high-tech in the west? Yes. Would I care if I had to renew my gadget every other year instead of every year due to increased cost? Not at all. Not if it helped clean up China.