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Cloudy skies over Beijing? Actually, no - the gray haze you see above is pollution.
NASA's Aqua satellite captured the patch of winter haze over the mega cities of Beijing and Tianjin on January 10, 2012:
One major constituent of haze is particle pollution, such as dust, liquid drops, and soot from burning fuel or coal. Particles smaller than 10 micrometers (called PM 10) are small enough to enter the lungs, where they can cause respiratory problems. The density of PM10 reached 560 micrograms per cubic meter of air on January 10, said the Beijing Environment Protection Bureau. By contrast, U.S. cities exceed air quality standards when PM10 concentrations reach 150 micrograms per cubic meter.
But most of the pollution that makes up haze isn’t PM10; it’s finer particles, smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM2.5). These particles can embed themselves deep in the lungs and occasionally enter the blood stream. The fine particles are highly reflective, sending sunlight back into space. The Chinese government does not currently measure PM2.5, but the U.S. Embassy in Beijing reports their measurements hourly in a Twitter feed. On the morning of January 10, PM2.5 measurements were off the scale, though by afternoon they had dropped to moderate levels. The Beijing Environmental Bureau will start releasing PM2.5 measurements sometime before January 23, the Chinese New Year.
You lungs thank you for not living there: Link
Daihai Fei graduated from college six months ago and needed a place to live in Beijing. But the rental properties available were so expensive that he decided to build his own house. It’s shaped like an egg and made from burlap bags, bamboo, insulation, and paint. Fei built a solar panel into the roof. The total cost was 6400 yuan or $960 USD. You can view several more pictures at the link, which appears to be in Italian.
Link (Google Translate) via io9 | Photo: Cinaoggi
Think your commute is bad? This should make you fell a lot better: a massive traffic jam outside Beijing stretched 100 km (62 mi.) and lasted 9 days!
Vehicles, mostly lorries bound for Beijing, are in a queue for about 100km (62 miles) because of heavy traffic, road works and breakdowns.
The drivers have complained that locals were over-charging them for food and drink while they were stuck.
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Most of the time, the image of a zoo is one of animal protection and education. However, the Beijing zoo has expanded this ‘education’ to include the culinary aspects of some of the more exotic animals housed therein.
For about 20-200 dollars, visitors to the Bin Feng Tang restaurant can sample hippo, scorpion, peacock, shark fin, kangaroo tail, or deer penis. Of course, the restaurant is not without controversy in the animal-loving world, and the restaurant and zoo are under fire for the practices.
“It is utterly inappropriate for a zoo to sell such items,” said Ge Rui of the International Fund for Animal Welfare. “One of the zoo’s missions is to foster love of animals and a desire to protect them. But by selling the meat of caged beasts, this zoo stimulates consumption and increases pressure on the animals in the wild. It is socially irresponsible.”
Link – via shanghaiist
From the Upcoming 
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This is a surreal and gruesome yet fascinating sight: a massive fire engulfing the newly built 40-story Mandarin Oriental hotel in the CCTV Complex in Beijing. You can watch the top of the building exploding as fire consumes the entire structure.
CNN has an article compiling first-hand reports from its citizen reporters:
The blaze erupted in the final hours of the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration as people set off fireworks across the city.
Xinhua reported that Beijing residents were supposed to stop selling and lighting fireworks by midnight. iReporter de Villeneuve said she
suspects many people in the city were trying to use whatever remaining fireworks they had before the deadline."We have been seeing fireworks for the past two weeks. I have to say this is quite a surprise," she said.
iReporter Rice said he was watching fireworks nearby when he noticed that fireworks were being set off near the buildings.
"Then we looked closer and saw the flames come from the top of the building," Rice said. "Soon became apparent that the building was on fire."
Hit play or go to Link [YouTube]
