Beijing Smog: A Fashionable Solution...

Supposedly the smog has gotten much better since the clean-up efforts that surrounded the Olympics.  But people who live here will still say that the smog is a serious concern. During humid times of year the fog can be of equal concern from a visual perspective, but at least the rains that follow help clear the air.

I tried to take the following pictures from approximately the same place, so as to illustrate the differences in air quality.  Here is a picture of a typical smoggy day:

Here is what it looks like on a rainy day (smog + fog):

And here is a picture of a rare, but beautiful clear day.  This is what they refer to as "Blue Sky" days in Beijing and you can measure the air quality by the number reported in a year.

If you are looking for an ironic and fashionable solution to the smog problem, from a personal approach at least, you can protect your lungs a bit with a cotton face-mask.  But rather than going around looking like a surgeon on lunch break, you can instead opt for a stylish cartoon face-mask, like this one I found at an "all panda" shop in one of the busy houtongs!:

Notice the little skully-carcinogen looking bad guys inside the panda?  He is saying "No,no!" and looks very perturbed.  Priceless.

In order to see what it looks like on, I have engaged this individual to model it for you.  For his sake I have protected his identity ;)