Expats seek to beat smog with technology

Several independent Dutch inventors are among a handful of foreigners who have found unique ways to combat China's smog, as air pollution in Shanghai this winter soared to historic highs, making facemasks a seasonal fashion accessory.

The hazardous haze compelled Shanghai resident Niels Woelders to design an elaborate air-filtration system in his apartment that he claims is second-to-none.

It has also prompted one Chinese-Australian couple in the city to chase investors for a pollution-themed TV show.

Meanwhile, designer Daan Roosegaarde has been building a giant machine dubbed "smog" that he claims will be able to vacuum the noxious fumes from Beijing's skies.

If successful, it would rank as the world's largest air purifier.

One foreign artist in Beijing is even working on an air-purifying bicycle made using parts of a trash can, a fighter-pilot mask and a pedal-powered wind generator.

It is hard to say whether media reports that Beijing may pump nitrogen into the skies to tackle the problem are any more outlandish.

On a lighter note, photos showing Beijing residents with cigarette butts plugging their nostrils recently went viral online, prompting serious investigation by some Chinese newspapers into the efficacy of this smog-reducing tactic. The apparent message from an exasperated but resilient citizenry was: If you can't beat it, laugh at it.

Heavy pollution made for distressing headlines throughout 2013. It grounded flights in cities such as Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province, which is famous for its monolithic ice sculptures. It shuttered thousands of schools and construction sites in Beijing. It also ramped up sales of air purifiers on Internet retailer Tmall.

Along with the strengthening yuan, it was blamed for inbound tourism to the capital falling more than 10 percent in 2013.

Some 1,100 km south in Shanghai, the air quality index raced off-grid for several days in December - even exceeding 500, a reading the United States consulate classifies as "beyond index" - causing more expats to reconsider their long-term plans.

The city responded by closing factories and ordering one in three government-used cars off the road.

Three months earlier, at least one World Health Organization body officially acknowledged outdoor pollution as a carcinogen for the first time.

For Woelders, an electrical engineer with several patents to his name, relocating was less of an option because he has a Chinese wife and child here. Instead, the resourceful Dutchman battened down the hatches and built an air-cleaning unit, which he claims is more effective at eliminating harmful chemicals and gases than most of the products consumers can buy.

It operates on a seven-stage process that even filters out bacteria and viruses.

"My son's kindergarten has a rule about needing to keep the window open to let in air," he said. "But if you open the window, you may as well switch off your air purifier because the pollution will enter faster than the purifier can clean it.

"My product is way more beneficial than most of what's available because my main goal is to solve this problem, not make a large profit."