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Beijing winning pollution battle as other Chinese cities fall behind

 

A worker stands on the frozen Kunming Lake at the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, China, December 27, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

 

BEIJING (Reuters) - As Beijing and the surrounding region reported big improvements in air quality last year, nationwide gains were much more muted as industrial activity shifted further away from the capital, a report by Greenpeace shows.

 

Strict restrictions on coal use and industrial activity led to a dramatic improvement in air quality in Beijing and across northern China, helped also by favourable weather conditions.

 

China as a whole, however, cut air pollution levels by just 4.5 percent last year, according to the most often-cited measure, which was the smallest decline since 2013 as industry ramped up coal, cement and steel production, Greenpeace said in a report on China air pollution published on Thursday.

 

A separate Reuters analysis of official government readings of concentrations of small, breathable particles known as PM2.5 also showed a disparity between Beijing and 27 nearby cities included in a pollution action plan and those just outside the zone.

 

The findings indicate that while government policies to reduce chocking smog that plagues most Chinese cities seem to be having an effect, the improvements are uneven and China still has a long way to go in taming air pollution.

 

Beijing's pollution level dropped 53.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017 from a year earlier, while PM2.5 levels in Heilongjiang, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces jumped, Greenpeace said.

 

"China's national air pollution action plan has brought massive reductions in pollution levels and associated health risks, but policies favouring coal and heavy industry are holding back progress," said Greenpeace East Asia climate and energy campaigner Huang Wei.

 

China's economy grew faster than expected for most of last year, with many economists crediting the industrial sector and a construction boom for boosting growth. The country's steel output is expected to have hit a record 832 million tonnes in 2017.

 

Average air pollution in Linfen, an industrial city in Shanxi province that was not part of the government action plan, rose significantly last year, according to Reuters calculations of data from the independent website www.aqistudy.cn, which tracks official air quality data.

By contrast Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi about 250 kilometres (155 miles) from Linfen and part of the 28 city campaign, showed a modest improvement in air quality last year.

 

Greenpeace said that PM2.5 levels fell by 40 percent year-on-year in the 28 cities during the peak period for heating from mid-October to mid-March, and by only 23 percent in the surrounding cities.

 

(Reporting by Elias Glenn and Muyu Xu; Additional reporting by the Beijing newsroom; Editing by Susan Fenton)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters Full story:

[boomerangutang]

I just booked a ticket to Hawaii from Thailand, with an 18 hour (!) stop-over at Beijing airport.  Does anyone know whether I can get a tour of Beijing (perhaps provided by the airline) during that long wait?  I did that once in Seoul, and they gave me a free tour of the city + lunch. (nearly froze my butt off as I was only wearing shorts and t-shirt).

[ilostmypassword]

4 minutes ago, boomerangutang said:

I just booked a ticket to Hawaii from Thailand, with an 18 hour (!) stop-over at Beijing airport.  Does anyone know whether I can get a tour of Beijing (perhaps provided by the airline) during that long wait?  I did that once in Seoul, and they gave me a free tour of the city + lunch. (nearly froze my butt off as I was only wearing shorts and t-shirt).

I once had a long stayover in Guangdong and my airline provided me with a free hotel room. But I had to ask for it. The staff didn't volunteer the information. So you might want to do some research on the airline's website. But if it's anything like the website I tried to use, it will be challenging.

[Scott]

I believe you would have to have a visa to China to even consider it.  

[ballpoint]

China has a 72 hour transit visa on arrival for citizens of a number of countries.  There's an immigration lane for it at Beijing, and some other cities, airport.  You need to show your onward ticket, departing less than 72 hours after arrival, plus valid visa for where you're travelling to next, if applicable.  There are a number of "layover" tour companies that will pick you up from the airport and take you to the great wall, or other places, some even providing jackets if you don't have any warm clothing.  these need to be booked in advance though, and I'd recommend checking up on your validity for the visa before making the booking.

[ilostmypassword]

Just now, ballpoint said:

China has a 72 hour transit visa on arrival for citizens of a number of countries.  There's an immigration lane for it at Beijing, and some other cities, airport.  You need to show your onward ticket, departing less than 72 hours after arrival, plus valid visa for where you're travelling to next, if applicable.  There are a number of "layover" tour companies that will pick you up from the airport and take you to the great wall, or other places, some even providing jackets if you don't have any warm clothing.  these need to be booked in advance though, and I'd recommend checking up on your validity for the visa before making the booking.

This is just to confrim that this is the case. I needed to get that at the airport to get taken to my layover hotel.

[puck2]

50 minutes ago, ballpoint said:

China has a 72 hour transit visa on arrival for citizens of a number of countries.  There's an immigration lane for it at Beijing, and some other cities, airport.  You need to show your onward ticket, departing less than 72 hours after arrival, plus valid visa for where you're travelling to next, if applicable.  There are a number of "layover" tour companies that will pick you up from the airport and take you to the great wall, or other places, some even providing jackets if you don't have any warm clothing.  these need to be booked in advance though, and I'd recommend checking up on your validity for the visa before making the booking.

 

My best friend, married to a great Chinese lady (of Kunming), did it many times after arriving from Germany.

[rudi49jr]

5 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

I once had a long stayover in Guangdong and my airline provided me with a free hotel room. But I had to ask for it. The staff didn't volunteer the information. So you might want to do some research on the airline's website. But if it's anything like the website I tried to use, it will be challenging.

Yes, it's definitely worth asking the airline. My girlfriend flew from Amsterdam to Bangkok with Royal Jordanian, had a 14-hour stop-over in Amman and they put her up in a very nice hotel at the airport.