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INTRO
First the latest on the heavy smog smothering the country.
Beijing continued to issue the highest alert for smog on Monday, as the city's air quality hovered at levels deemed "fatal" to breathe by the World Health Organization, with PMI readings forty times above safe levels.
Undermining government ambitions make China a beautiful country for residents.
For three consecutive days up to Sunday, Beijing was choked in dense smog.
Local environmental authorities said air pollution in the capital hit dangerous levels.
Readings for PM2.5, airborne particles measuring less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, soared above 900 per cubic meter on the weekend.
And air purifiers, are selling out.
SOUNDBITE: Beijing resident
"I came to buy the air filter machine. This is my first day going outside of my house, because the air is so bad."
SOUNDBITE: Beijing resident
"I know the PM2.5 readings are crazy high. And I never saw air this bad before. I think if we select public transport rather than our private cars, it will be better."
The problem was not limited to Beijing.
The haze also spread to regions surrounding the city and some parts of northern, eastern and central China.
... Forming a "pollutant belt" shrouding the entire country.
Some joked that the smoggy weather provided a "romantic" atmosphere where "I can surely feel you, but can not see you."
But behind the sarcasm, no one is happy about the "breath-taking" air-pocalypse.
Health experts warn the polluted air will cause increased respiratory and cardiovascular risks.
Also in jeopardy are the efforts of the Communist Party of China and government authorities to advance ecological progress and their new promise to build a "beautiful China..."
Blanketed by a brown sky and poisonous air.
Experts says its more than just a lack of wind - this is a man-made.
The roots of the smog are industrial emissions, vehicle exhausts and dust from construction sites.
Factory output jumped last month - and with orders from overseas picking up before many global companies' financial year end in March...
And a production push, before Chinese New Year, in February.
SOUNDBITE: WANG QINGENG, Environmental expert
"The pollution these days is mainly triggered by natural conditions. But the emissions from factories and cars play an important, underlying role in the air pollution process."
Then there's the cars.
According to data from the country's auto industry, China remained the world's largest producer and market for automobiles for the fourth straight year in 2012.
Carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and other pollutants emitted by vehicles were among the main contributors to air pollution.
In 2011, China announced it has met its major air and water pollution control targets for the country's 11th Five-Year Plan, from 2006 to 2010.
But prolonged smog in recent days suggests China's rapid industrialization and urbanization, are posing grave new environmental challenges.
And counter-pollution control work will require more vigorous and scientific measures.
In addition to policies to curb the pollution sources, the bleak weather also tested the government's emergency response capabilities.
Beijing issued the city's first orange fog warning, the second most severe level, on Sunday due to decreased visibility.
Similar measures were also launched in other cities.
The weekend smog in Beijing is reminiscent of the Great Smog of London in 1952, believed to have resulted in the premature deaths of at least 4,000 people.
A heavy cost, for prosperity.
But London is no longer the "city of fog," thanks to better governmental regulation and public awareness.
According to a report released Monday by the Asian Development Bank and Chinese environmental experts, among 500 Chinese biggest cities, less than five reached the safe air quality level set by the World Health Organization.
And among the ten most polluted cities across the world, seven are in China.
The Capital's meteorological bureau says a strong cold front is expected to clear up lingering smog in Beijing on Tuesday night, and blow it away across much of the country on Wednesday.
