Covered in smoke

On my visit to Beijing, in mid-2012, I heard one theory by Dr. Li Hing Tu Yu on why Chinese have narrower eyes: there are so many particles in the air that they have to keep their eyes shut most of their time to prevent the chronic itching that I painfully felt during my stay in the "Middle Kingdom". I now refute the theory that Chinese Tai Chi Chuan practitioners are healthier, as they are probably the ones who are most affected by deep breathing techniques that force them to inhale most of the air pollution.

It is no secret that China has grown robustly in the past decades and that the world economy has benefited from this impressive development, specially my beloved, commodities-exporter Brazil. But, when in January 2013, Beijing, with its big reliance on coal-fired power plants, reported pollution levels as high as 900 µg/m3 (36 times higher than what is considered safe by the World Health Organization), we all tought: "when was the last time I ordered Chinese?". As a result of its unbearable pollution, newspapers say, China has struggled to attract brains, not to say other parts of the body as well.

Shanghai has an ample supply of rooftops for those wanting to have a drink while enjoying its Jetson-like skyline: the 100th-floor summit of the Shanghai World Financial Center, the 88-story Jin Mao Tower and, my chosen one, the 32nd floor of the Hyat on the Bund - high enough for me. Altough they still provide a breathtaking view (it's really hard to breathe up there), it is not insane to assume pollution will one day make observatories obsolete.

But how to become cleaner - or should I say less dirty - when the entire global economy depends on China maintaining its ferocious expansion? Well, why not use its innate copying ability - Tommy Welai, Zhongdaeyu, Kabba and Lifan are all undaunted Chinese tributes (copies) to respectable brands Tommy Hilfinger, Lacoste, Kappa and Mini, respectively - to replicate a sucessful model for tackling pollution such as London's: fitting diesel particulate filters on bus routes, establishing limits for highly polluting industries, favoring renewable energy, among other measures that I'll leave for the specialists to address.

A nation that built, among other things, the Great Wall and Xian's Terracota Army is truly gorgeous. However, as the famous Chinese philosopher Confucious (551–479 BC) once said “everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it”. For China, now covered in smoke, this sentence makes more sense than ever.

The Great Pollution of China

Pollution can be seen (and felt) even at night

Beijing is not foggy, is polluty

A remarkable Chinese tribute to Tommy Hilfinger

Which came first, Kabba or Kappa?