[John Sabato]

The frangance of SULFUR permeated Beijing. Shanghai, not so much.

Pollution is apparent in Beijing as there is not much wind in the city. Much of the heating is done by coal. The situation was exacerbated by the fact that China had just celebrated their new year a couple weeks before our arrival, and just before our arrival was the Fireworks festival that accompanies their new year. The fireworks festival is probably the largest use of fireworks in the world. The smoke lingered in the city during our stay because there was no wind to wash it away.

Here is a perfect photo example. The cold damp air in the morning makes a lot of fog... and when you add the pollution to it, it looked like Photo #1 out our hotel room window at 9AM in the morning on the first day in-country.

This is a very unusual for a combination office building and hotel. The second photo was taken 3 days later in the afternoon. Notice the dramatic difference in the fog/smoke level.

We had surgical masks with us, and many locals wore them, some very decorative, but my wife and I didn't feel the need, and neither did our native english speaking guide.