Will pollution wreck my Beijing dreams ?
 

I have always been wanting to embark on this trip to Beijing and finally I took a spur of the moment decision and will be heading out there in couple of weeks time. I have planned a month long vacation and am looking forward to it but my brother in law who recently came back from a business trip to China is advising me against it (I suffer from severe asthma attacks and am hooked to my meds, inhalers and air purifier).

Is the situation really that bad? Will this air purifier ( http://go-clair.com/collections/clai...5-air-purifier) I am using suffice? what about pollution masks ? Is there anything specific for people dealing with respiratory problems ? I am just getting a bit nervous here ....

This belongs on the Asia board. Suggest you repost there. If you have asthma I would certainly NOT plan for a month in China's big cities, maybe a few days.

I agree with thursdaysd that the Asia board would be a better place for this post.

That said, I would strongly encourage you to consult your physician before making a decision.

Here's a thread with some info about the pollution and some potentially useful links:
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...y-forecast.cfm

Good luck!

@thursdaysd : Thanks I shall repost on the Asia board.I am going there for a month I have made up my mind about that because when I travel I don't wanna travel like a tourist I want ample time to experience the place and its culture.

@kja : It was my GP who recommended this air purifier couple of months back but looking at the pollution in China I'm wondering whether this alone will suffice? Second thoughts like you suggested I am planning to take an appointment with my GP tomorrow and get all my doubts clarified..

I'm glad you will consult your GP -- good move! :-)

If you do decide to go to China, you might find some useful information in my trip report -- just click on my name to find it. I was lucky -- the pollution wasn't nearly so bad when I went (2010) as it has gotten since then.

You may get lucky on the east coast, but it would be safer to head for the southwest.

@kja Thank you so much . I just checked your profile. You made the trip in 2010 right ? I am going to take a look at your report in detail.

btw I got it clarified from my GP. He says I can use the same one because its not about size but how good the filter is at getting rid of pollutants and since the one he recommended has a filter which is patented to capture more than HEPA I needn't worry. So finally I can heave a sigh of relief !

I would still recommend limiting your time in east coast cities and spending time in the southwest.

Yes, my trip was in 2010, and you'll see that I stayed to the north. I believe thursdaysd has travelled to other parts of China and probably has some trip reports that should prove useful.

My last trip to Chona was in 2004, alas, before I discovered Fodors. I never wrote up my first visit, in the late 90s with the Smithsonian, but Beijing to Kashgar is here: http://wilhelmswords.com/asia2001/index.html

And part of my seven week solo trip is here: http://wilhelmswords.com/rtw2004/index.html

China has obviously changed a good bit since I was there. Travel will be easier, but I'm sure the people (taxi drivers aside) will be just as helpful.

Yes you definitely should bring both: air purifier and pollution mask. I already have that Clair air purifier and it's really good enough for your place. I use it for months now and I live in LA and it really wors pretty well. Anyway, you need something else for outside too.

@aladingue I don't think you can compare the pollution in LA to that in Beijing. I've heard Beijing is as bad as it can get ..

I'll be getting hold of pollution masks as well .. I realized I can use the Clair BF2025 model inside my car with the help of an inverter after plugging it into the car cigarette lighter port. Just tried it yesterday.So I guess I'm good to go.

Thanks for the inputs everyone. I hope I'll be able to come back and write a positive report on this forum .