Picture of the Day: This happened just now

An afternoon at People's University of China

It happens sometimes that the clouds/fog/smog/whatever-it-is in this city breaks formation and reveals to us the deep, penetrative blue of an endless sky. We are not often privy to this sight, so excuse me for sounding as I do. Worries are tossed aside and time slows down: you simply exist.

I've said this before but it bears repeating: on a clear day, Beijing is gorgeous and truly world-class, as defined by eliciting happiness.

I took a stroll through the charming campus of People's University to commemorate the occasion.







People's University, i.e. Renmin University of China (中国人民大学), i.e. Renda (RUC), was founded in 1937 amid the Sino-Japanese War. It focuses on humanities and the social sciences, often hosting international scholars (including my friend Michael Chaitkin, from Stanford, who has a tag on this blog) and guest speakers, and is just a peg below the more internationally renowned Peking University (Beida) (but don't tell Renda's students that).

More pictures:





Practicing tennis against the side of Shiji Gymnasium.

Yes, the Beijing Olympics graced this campus.



Mingde building, which houses the schools of law, economics, international studies and maybe something else.

Pickup bball.

Sandstorms in Beijing

The capital city has seen better days.

A reminder that Beijing in gorgeous when it's nice

The BLUEST sky (taken last August, Olympics-time).

What happens when the heaviest rainstorms of the year sweep through

Sinkhole.

China Daily, HT to Alicia

Amazing how gorgeous Beijing's skies can be on a clear day

Today marked the third consecutive day we've had absolutely gorgeous, resplendently clear skies in Beijing, and in case you're wondering how gorgeous, how resplendent, please take note of the following pictures, taken on the evening of June 29, the night of June 30 and the afternoon of July 1:







Moments like these, of course, is when all of us living in this city (and country) raise our fists and demand to some unseen force the PRC government, "Why can't you let it be like this all the time more often???"

Because these last three days were truly something to be savored.

For now, though, we'll have to add days like these to our list of things to look forward to when China's neverending development finally ends. As the locals have a way of saying, almost as a requisite response to every small bit of criticism that has no better retort, "Things will get better."

Radiating cold

In Beijing, central heating is turned off in every building -- every apartment, every supermarket, every office -- in mid-March, as decreed by the government, so when a cold front moves in, as it did earlier this week, there is an awful sort of cold that seeps into your bones and settles there like the worst type of house guest, refusing to leave. This is not the place for those with poor circulation.

I am chilled to my innermost core, unable to shake this nippiness, and none too pleased. Of course, as with all aspects of life here in the big, noisy, rambunctious, oft-confused city, neither temper nor happiness is something you can afford to lose. Perhaps I should start wearing gloves more often.

POSTSCRIPT: The final word on last week's blocking of YouTube, from Time's Austin Ramzy.

Picture of the day: snow persists

Opposite the West gate of Workers Stadium

Snowing in Beijing

For only the second time this season, it snowed in Beijing this morning. To commemorate the occasion:


HT: Doc Tobin

Rain, you have blessed us at last

Facing the prospect of an 111th consecutive day without rain -- the longest span in 38 years -- Beijing's Air Force seeded the clouds yesterday and brought water down upon the land -- a steady, gooey downpour that made the entire day shitty (and me lose my umbrella).

But today it was beautiful -- crisp, temperate, a thin layer of blue over the light haze -- making the process worth it. I can always get another umbrella, but a clear day in February in Beijing? Bless the Politburo!

Of course, not as beautiful as Lijiang from above, but, well, not much can compare to this:

Wow

That was my reaction when I stepped outside today, with blue skies over my head a crisp autumn chill in the air. This is the weather to wear shorts with tennis shoes and a long-sleeve t-shirt while biking around town.

Maybe it's because I had a non-hangover hangover (I don't get hangovers) after drinking a double shot of Jameson on the rocks and an 18-year double malt liquor followed by seven shots of rum and a beer, but I would say today is a stunningly perfect day, the sort that has made me fall in love with this city all over again. A strange thing to say, I know, but I haven't felt this good in weeks.

A view from Ritan Park

Another absolutely beautiful day today. What would you have done with it?

Ah, peace

From this afternoon:


Of course, I paid for it the day before by getting rained on.

Blue... and white!

Blue skies are one thing, but blue with white -- as in the delicately formed, candid, elucidating clouds... now that's a sight to see. And when it comes to days like yesterday, well, I haven't seen one of those in Beijing for a long, long time.

This came after two nights of raining -- only during the nights, mind you, very little during the day, leading me to suspect the cloud seeders are at it again. And in case you're wondering, yes, I do believe in cloud seeding now, indubitably. No way nature just happened to smile down on Beijing out of the blue.

A peace disturbed

I've got Beethoven and all the sheer brilliant madness of his 9th Symphony playing on iTunes when a flash of light makes me blink. Did a mosquito just crash into his death? God I hope so. Then thunder cracks and an altogether different thought hits me: they're seeding clouds. If I didn't know better that's what I'd say, anyway. But I do know better. Silver iodide doesn't do anything.

Right...?

More on Beijing's air quality

Leave it to a publication that knows the country to give us an informed view. Austin Ramzy:

What I was hopping to convey was that it's a bit silly (and yes, I've been guilty of it, too) to look out the window with a month to go before the Games, see the Beijing haze and declare that the Games are in peril. The short-term measures that are being put in place, like taking close to half the cars off Beijing streets nearly three weeks before the events start, will have a significant effect on air quality.

This seems like the right opportunity to reproduce part of a pitch I sent Slate on June 24, asking them to let me write about the overblown concerns over Beijing's air. I outlined for them six reasons for optimism:

1. Cars pulled off the road, gas prices raised: ozone reduction. The main cause of air pollution is vehicle emissions, and according to a paper published by Harvard researchers (who should be accessible), 70 percent of the nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere come from car emissions, which react with particles in the air and petroleum to form ozone (O3). During the Sino-Africa summit in November 2006, Beijing experimented with their odd-even license plate plan that effectively eliminates half the city's cars from the roads, and the Harvard researchers found that over a three-day span there was a 40% reduction in NOx. I'd love to find out more, ask about implications, etc.

2. Construction moratorium and factory shutdown: particles reduction. Beijing's treated these last few months like an 11th hour cram session to finish up projects like subway lines and condos. We're about to go from that extreme to the other of no construction at all. The large dust particles that construction projects throw into the atmosphere will disappear, helping clear the air.

3. Geography and seasonal winds. Hills to the north and northwest block the southern winds that blow through during the summer, which means Beijing needs to shut down the big plants just south of the city lest they want the smog to settle over the metropolis. They know about this, and they will. Winds blow from the north during the spring, bringing down lots of dust from Mongolian sandstorms. This contributes to the pollution we see these days, but they won't be a factor come August.

4. Because national Olympic Committees aren't worried, and aren't they the ones that should be? Darryl Seibel, USOC spokesperson: "Given the fact that the appropriate bodies are aware of this, are making it a priority and have a plan to do something about it, we're comfortable."

[Need to talk to the Australian Olympic Committee... I suspect one of their official's "concerns" over air pollution got twisted horribly out of context, as somehow this story transformed into this, which uses loaded words like "ban" and "boycott." Interview with Canadian Olympic Committee, UK Sport and IOC spokesperson TK.]

5. A quote from David Streets, senior scientist at Argonne National Laboratory, who I interviewed for the ESPN piece: "They also may of course do more things -- they have the ability to reduce emissions more if it looks like things are really bad; they may say, Okay, all factories shut down and stop driving your car unless you absolutely have to the next few days. It's the advantage of centrally controlled countries: they can do this and hope for the best."

6. A little bit of luck. Mention of how six is a lucky number. As is eight, as in the Opening Ceremonies date, 8-8-08. Talk about how the best thing that could happen for Beijing is rain and wind in the week before the Opening Ceremony to clear up the air (this would have a tremendous effect, and I may be able to find a meteorologist to talk about it). Talk to the Italian forecast team that was recently selected to be the official weather team for these Games.

FOLLOW-UP EMAIL:

I'd take a much more aggressive approach in defending China's anti-pollution initiatives. There's been so much pessimism about Beijing's air that I'd like to pull the discussion back towards the middle. It may seem bad now, but there are short-term solutions that really can (because they've proven to) work.

Long-term sustainability is a different beast, but when you're talking about whether the air will be clear during the weeks of the Olympic and Paralymic Games, then I must reiterate my initial feeling that things will be just fine. Take a deep breath, people.

My Slate pitch was politely declined.

POSTSCRIPT: I know this post comes late, but I've been in Inner Mongolia the last five days and only used the Internet for an hour in that span. Don't know how I survived. Anyway, look for some massive backdated posts in the coming week, if I can get my wits about me. (They drink a lot of baijiu out there. A lot. Our versions of GANBEI were not at all like this:)

A very, very blue sky

For anyone with doubts that blue skies actually exist in China, allow the past two weeks to put those to rest:



Beijing will need some luck for the weather to be this nice come Games time, but no more knee-jerk doomsday prognosticating, okay? I'm looking your way, Slate.

That's asking for too much, I realize. If liberal publications stopped criticizing Beijing's air, they may actually have to find some non-trite storylines to write about.

POSTSCRIPT: I'm ashamed I just recently discovered James Reynolds's blog for BBC... he has a fairly balanced take of the situation here.

Back in Beijing air

Speaking of air...

The latest from the "Beijing Bureau" on ESPN The Magazine's website: it's about Beijing's air quality.

I'll go on the record here and say I believe the skies will clear up when the Olympics come, despite all the pessimism in the popular press. I may be in the minority on this, but I know lots of qualified people -- experts, you may say -- would agree.

I'll say more later. This could be a potential article...

Uh...

From the NY Times' Olympics blog, Rings:

With Beijing’s air quality plummeting because of a sandstorm blowing in today from Mongolia, the municipal government has declared an air quality emergency and advised people with respiratory problems to stay indoors.

That was from yesterday. The air looks none the better today, and we have pick-up outdoors. I believe I have just the word for this situation:

Damnit!