Some Tips for surviving the air pollution in Beijing

Indoors:
Get an air purifier in your bedroom. If you’re very concerned, put one in every room. If you live near a major highway, don’t leave your windows open at night as that’s when all the heavy duty, black smoke belching trucks come by.

If you haven’t already, consider using face wash and lotion daily. Beijing is very dry compared to most temperate US cities, this compounds with the pollution to irritate the skin.

Outdoors:
Check the pollution index every day (http://aqicn.org/city/beijing/). The pollution is especially bad after sunset, but is lowest in the morning.

If you want to go running outside, do it in the morning, and not at night.

There are many masks to choose from, but you’ll want one with a rating of N90 and above. That means it filters out 90% of airborn particles. Here’s what a simple one looks like.