Air pollution has traditionally been a big problem in Beijing like any other big city in China. Car exhaust, coal burning, and dust storms from the Gobi desert combine to make some of the worst city air on the planet. Winter is the worst time as the cold air creates an inversion layer and traps the pollution in the city. A white surgical face mask may help with the occasional dust storms. In 2007, the air quality had improved considerably as a result of stringent measures put in place before the Olympics. However, with the Olympics now gone and more and more cars on the streets, servere bouts of smog are still commonplace.
For general health and food advice see the main China article.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Beijing
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Beijing - updated May 2024
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Beijing Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
