Hope for Clear Skies

Shaking Off the Dust

“Congratulations to our city for escaping notoriety of having the worst air quality in China！”

In October 2014， a banner with this line was found over the bicycle parking at Xingtai Environmental Protection Administration （XEPA）. It was soon posted on Weibo. Xingtai， in Hebei Province， is only 300 kilometers from Beijing and had topped the nation’s air pollution index since January 2013. Now， it ranks only fourth worst.

“The city of Xingtai has been primarily known for two things： the 1966 earthquake and some of the worst air pollution in China，” the head of XEPA remarks.“Even a media outlet from South Korea reported about us.” As the city drops on the list， both the people and government conversely hold their heads higher and higher. If you visit Xingtai on a Friday， you’ll see civil servants in suits， volunteers， and vendors busy cleaning streets， railings， buildings， dust bins， and plaques with brooms， rags， and even pressure washers， while the sky remains grey. The whole city seems like a public bathhouse.

The campaign to perform “city laundry” every Friday began in 2013. The city manager is looking for every method possible to shake the dust off Xingtai.

The latest report on the air quality of 74 cities by China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection ranked Xingtai last 10 times between January 2013 and November 2014， and the best position it ever managed was fifth worst. In 2013， the city suffered from serious air pollution for 145 days straight， with less than 38 days of decent air. Plagued by contaminants such as PM2.5， PM10， sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide， the stars are rarely visible anymore in Xingtai – a shame since its views were acclaimed by Yuan Dynasty （1271-1368） astronomer Guo Shoujing. No one can enjoy the once magnificently clear view of the Taihang Mountains from downtown anymore.

Locals stopped bothering measuring air quality with PM2.5. Most prefer to guess the air quality from the visibility of the sun， which is not any more encouraging.

Government and People

Like most local governments in the country， the municipal government of Xingtai has spared no efforts to fight pollution， calling for each citizen to shoulder responsibility by minimizing excess exhaust and encouraging them to document offenders with mobile phones， cameras and video cameras. Moreover， it has dispatched more than 1，000 public activists to supervise polluting enterprises and dispersed over 1 million yuan in awards to reporters of illegal emissions.

April 2014 brought a thorough read- justment of the leading body of XEPA： Four of nine members of the leading Party group were replaced. The municipal government urged the new decision makers to “pull out all the stops in improving our position on the air quality list.”

Contrasting residents of other smogplagued cities such as Beijing and Shanghai who have expressed their dissatisfaction to authorities， residents of Xingtai have been more patient with the local government. Having inhaled dusty air for decades， they have become much less sensitive to smog.

“Xingtai was already one of the most heavily polluted areas of China during the 1980s and 90s，” notes Wu Dui， former chief expert from Guangdong Meteorological Bureau. “Some years， it was smoggy 300 out of 365 days. People already take it for granted.”

Zhao Xiaomin， owner of a small restaurant in Xingtai， is never quite sure about the difference between fog and smog， which is poisonous exhaust. The mother of two， she vaguely knows about smog and that it is harmful to the respiratory system， but she isn’t bothered most of the time： She and her family have never worn masks or used air purifiers like people do in Beijing and Shanghai. “Let it be，” she sighs.

Zhao seems in the majority with such a philosophy. Everyone in the city has known Xingtai ranked last in the country since the news began spreading in newspapers， journals， televisions， and the internet. No matter how the pollution becomes， few on the streets of Xingtai wear masks and air purifiers don’t sell all that well. It’s not a hot topic there. “We are used to it，” many residents declare. “What can we do？”

Tireless Trek

Although Hebei Province is heavily represented on the top 10 severely-polluted cities list with seven， Beijing was the first to draw global attention. China’s capital began managing its air pollution due to concerns from visiting political leaders， pressure from international organizations， artists’ criticism and public outcry.

As a neighbor of the capital， Hebei faces a dire situation. Research has shown that about 30 percent of Hebei’s air pollution affects its neighbors. The Central Government has declared that Hebei， as a major industrial base， must shrink its production for the sake of environmental protection.

As a result， Hebei has seen a growing population contributing to air pollution control， represented by Cheng Hua.

Cheng ran a small lime powder plant on the northwestern outskirts of Xingtai， creating jobs for four of his family members and dozens more from his village. The plant’s dolomite powder was scattered along the hillside， but the income was much better than farming. This is why nobody complains much. A week after the provincial government’s mobilization meeting calling for air pollution control， Cheng Hua and other small factory owners were forced to shut down.

During the campaign， some 1，000 small enterprises were asked to fix their emissions， halt production， or close. The media reported that by October 2014， 1，813 out of 2，572 industrial enterprises in Xingtai met emission standards， 625 troubled enterprises naturally stopped production， and 135 were ordered to stop production and transform due to emission issues.

Money has always been the problem hindering such transformation. Often humble operators must shut down， stop production， spend massive sums to upgrade their equipment， and transform across months without positive income. “Understanding the situation， the municipal government of Xingtai has allocated over 200 million yuan to controlling air pollution，” a local paper reported.

However， new issues have arisen along with the campaign： During the planned economy era， Xingtai was designated a major industrial city by the state. Now that conservation prevails， it is being forced to abandon its industrial identity for the big picture of the region including Beijing， Tianjin and Hebei.

Clearly， new challenges await as Xingtai continues its assault on air pollution.