air pollution in China With the 2014 APEC Economic Leader's Meeting around the corner, Beijing has stepped into APEC time. Measures that has been taking in Beijing and cities from neighboring 5 provinces has improved the city's air quality since November. According to the data at 8am, Nov.3rd. Beijing's NO.6 district had 37 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubicmetre, close to the first level of 'excellent ' in API. Thanks to the joint efforts from provinces, the sky is restoring blue, named 'APEC blue' by local residents. While enjoying the blue sky, they worry that whether it could maintain. The haze, which should better be called 'smog', is led mainly by burning coals. China burns 3.5 to 4.0 billion tons of coal every year, that amounts to half of the world's coal consumption. Moreover, the carbon dioxide, nitrogeon dioxide, suffur dioxide, mercury and etc. emitted by the burning coal are unable to dispose of effectively. To ensure good air quality during the summit, 2386 factories has been either shut down or limited in operation in the neighbouring Hebei province, with 2445 more construction sites suspended. While it hleps to reach the annual goal of reducing 30 percent of plutants year on year, this quick fix protrude the long-term dilema of environment improvement.