This entire past week has been very... Dusty. Temperature in the the city rose to about 30s and sand from the northwest came in with their usual might. As a city that lacks adequate green belt and bodies of water, Beijing chokes on the sand and suffocates every single year. My throat got infected the day after the sand storm, as usual, nothing is said on tv about this severe weather phenomenon. Scarce land within the city still get zoned into commercial real estate developments instead of building parks and planting trees. Finally on friday, while its still very sandy, Strong gust had swept through the city the day before. Me and Lili took a stroll along Houhai, one of the few lakes in Beijing metro area. The air immediately got better as we got close to the lake. Well, comparatively speaking. "Better" only as in "Hmm, my throat only feels a bout quater of the dirt grains as before I got to the lake".
Some would argue that Beijing has already built new green belts and implemented other methods to combat sand storms, but within Metro areas, I don't think Beijing has put enough thoughts into it. There are barely any parks and greeneries here, The embassy area plus Ri Tan Park is the only bit of large usable green area, which is only less than 25% of Manhattan's Central park. Keep in mind this is the sum of Ri Tan Park AND the embassy area, so the actual usable green space is even less.
I hate sand Storms, I'm sure everyone does, I also hate the fact I have no where to seek clean air except around Houhai. Beijing needs more parks, please spread the word.
