Blue skies in south while North China suffers smog

While China's northern regions continue to struggle with persistent heavy air pollution, the air quality in the southern coastal city of Xiamen is among the best in the nation, according to official monitoring data.

In addition to the city's clean air, its blue seas, green mountains and pleasant weather also add to the allure of this popular tourist destination, which is known for such attractions as Gulangyu Island and South Putuo Temple, said Jin Jianming, a local environmental scientist.

"The prosperity of the Chinese civilization is closely linked to its ecological environment, and Xiamen has set a good example by protecting and enhancing the environment," Jin said.

According to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the levels of PM 2.5 - particulate matter under 2.5 micrometers - in Beijing and its neighbors Tianjin and Hebei were heavier than in other parts of the country last month. In terms of the air quality, Xiamen presents a striking contrast with those regions and cities.

Earlier this year, when thick fog and haze hit many regions of China, Phoenix Weekly posted a chart online showing that the daily PM2.5 readings in Shanghai, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Changsha ranged from 100 to more than 300, while the reading in Xiamen was 33.

Experts said particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter can easily enter the lungs and bloodstreams of human beings.

Zhuang Mazhan, chief engineer at Xiamen's central environmental monitoring station, said that Xiamen is one of the pilot cities in China for PM 2.5 monitoring.

Xiamen began to keep track of PM 2.5 in 2010 at a time when few cities were doing so, Zhuang said, adding that the city now has four State-controlled environmental and air monitoring stations for the real-time monitoring of PM 2.5 and larger particulate matter.

"The monitoring system enables us to stay vigilant and react immediately if the air quality worsens," Zhuang said.

"The current level of air quality does not mean Xiamen will always be immune to air pollution. The city's environmental authorities have fought hard to maintain blue skies in the past years," Zhuang said.

He said acid rain created by the burning of coal and other fossil fuels stained the buildings of Xiamen in 2010, prompting a campaign to curb coal-based energy consumption in the city.

Because they were a major source of sulfur dioxide, a number of coal-fired power plants were shut down, Zhuang said. Natural gas and other clean energy sources, including wind, solar and biomass began to take their place.

Use of the coal in households had already disappeared by 2006.

With automobile emissions posing another significant threat to the city's air quality, the Xiamen Environmental Protection Bureau issued emission labels to newly registered motor vehicles starting at the end of 2010.

A green label on the vehicle indicates that it has met the Euro II emission standard and a yellow one means it has met the Euro I.

Cars without emission labels were banned from roads, and yellow-labeled vehicles were only allowed to run during limited times and on limited sections of road.

The city's traffic management and environmental protection bureaus also promoted the use of alternative-energy and small-displacement vehicles in addition to encouraging people to drive less frequently to reduce vehicle exhaust.

Apart from vehicle emissions, the city government is also mandating that buildings reduce their carbon footprint.

According to the city's low-carbon development program, if the CO2 amount from a building exceeds the emissions cap, the building owner would need to "buy" emission credits at the local carbon exchange, which is meant to control the total amount of carbon emissions.

Please contact the writers through sunli@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 10/10/2013 page7)