Tianjin Games
News November 18th, 2007
Sometimes I get the idea that Beijing is only city with air pollution problems. Partly because the air here makes me hack and cough, and partly because of all the new coverage the air and the Olympics are getting. But this story on Shanghai Scrap reminds me that Olympic football games will be held in Tianjin, and Tianjin has it’s own pollution issues.
That鈥檚 the main terminal in the distance - roughly 200 meters, I鈥檇 say. Like many Chinese cities, Tianjin鈥檚 population burns wood and coal for heat during the winter months - and it was plenty cold when I was there. Also, Tianjin has a significant manufacturing sector, lots of cars, and - most important - it is downwind from Shanxi Province,* the beating heart of China鈥檚 coal country, and home to yet another thriving manufacturing sector.
Looks pretty grey.
I don’t want to be all negative or alarmist. The sailing events for the Olympics will be held in Qingdao, a beautiful coastal city in Shandong province. When I was there last year, the air was very clear, and the beaches were some of the cleanest I’ve seen in China. All in all, a beautiful spot to hold the games.
Via Shanghai Scrap
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We live in Tianjin. I don’t know how the air compares to Beijing, but it’s pretty bad. You can always smell it, often taste it, or even feel it when it’s windy. The dust is that super-fine, slimey-feeling kind. The contrast photos (”blue sky day” vs. “not-so-blue sky day”) that we took this summer are here.
Yuck! The air where we live in Beijing has the kind of dusty residue that settles on anything left outside.
I think Tianjin is basically downwind from Beijing. We still haven’t found a way to win the battle against dust inside the apt.