Saturday, September 26, 2015

Firework in Changsha (1)

If you want to watch one of the most beautiful firework shows in China, I am sure that you will not miss visiting my hometown------Changsha, the only city in China which plays firework in Orange Island for almost every weekend. If you visit there for a while, you are able to feel the romantic atmosphere of firework on every Saturday with your loved ones. Firework in Changsha is so great that Xiangjiang's river bank is always crowded during the firework performance hours. Besides the normal firework shows, there are also many important firework competitions held in Changsha annually. Unquestionably, firework has become a symbol of Changsha city. Beautiful firework makes Changsha lovelier in some way and also gives many citizens a sense of pride for their hometown.
Can't wait to watch a firework show in Changsha? Here is a video of an important firework event held in Changsha in 2013, please enjoy it :) 

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Chinese New Year & air pollution

For every Chinese in the world, Chinese New Year is indisputably the most important annual festival. When it comes to Chinese New Year, it is natural to think about all those hearty delicacies, a happy family reunion, inspiring vision of the future and a harmonious and alive atmosphere in the house. But do you know many traditions of Chinese New Year produce PM2.5 to cause severe air pollution? For normal people, a healthy PM2.5 concentration should be below 65.5 ug/m3. According to Li (2013), however, the PM2.5 concentration in a Beijing's air monitoring station is 1593 ug/m3 at 1 am on Chinese New Year Eve! This shocking data is believed to be inextricably linked with many air pollutants released by firework and firecrackers during Chinese New Year. In fact, other traditions like burning incense and "ghost money" to memorialize ancestors also contribute to the increase in PM2.5.
Admittedly, Chinese New Year is an indispensable part in every year for Chinese and Chinese culture is unique and brilliant. Nonetheless, old traditions can be substituted partially by more sustainable and environmentally-friendly traditions to celebrate Chinese New Year so that we can have a pretty natural environment. Let us protect the environment and enjoy the festival by acting more responsibly to the nature!
Reference:
Li, Q. (2012) Send of Firecrackers Lead to PM2.5 Increased to 80 Times in Chinese
New Year's Eve of 2012. Beijing Times. [Accessed: 24th January 2012].

If you want to know more about "Nian" culture in China, here is a helpful video:
  
Also, here is a video of New Year firework in Beijing:




Saturday, September 12, 2015

Happiness requires clean air & a blue sky

Last week we talked about Under the Dome, the profound investigative documentary about China's terrible air pollution, attracted extensive attention in China. It proves that many people in China, are concerned about the air quality in their living environment, but why? As I see it, air pollution makes humanity extremely unhappy. For example, if I woke up and looked outside, a grey sky would definitely depress me to do my work. Most people would have the similar experience/feeling as me. In 2012, Levinson (2012) reported that people have low levels of happiness in days having heavy air pollution in the United States. Welsch (2002, 2006, 2007, 2009) also points out that air pollution has a significant bad influence on humanity's happiness in European countries. Similarly, air pollution also has a negative impact on Chinese's happiness. Moreover, besides its direct influence on mood, air pollution is also a major threat to people's health. It is not surprising that air pollution causes a wide range of symptoms from painful breathing and eye irritation to lung cancer. This adverse effect also notably decreases happiness. So let us improve the air quality as to regain a high level of happiness and health along with a beautiful blue sky. :)

My friend Chenming Huang smiled happily under the blue sky in Xinjiang Province

References: 
LEVINSON, A. (2012) Valuing public goods using happiness data: the case of air quality. J. Public Econ. 96 (9-10). p869-880.
WELSCH, H. (2002) Preferences over prosperity and pollution: environmental evaluation based on happiness surveys. Kyklos. 55 (4). p473-494.
WELSCH, H. (2006) Environment and happiness: valuation of air pollution using life satisfaction data. Ecol. Econ. 58 (4). p801-813.
WELSCH, H. (2007) Environmental welfare analysis: a life satisfaction approach. Ecol. Econ. 62 (3). p544-551.
WELSCH, H. (2009) Implications of happiness research for environmental economics. Ecol. Econ. 68 (11). p2735-2742. 




Sunday, September 6, 2015

Under the Dome: Chinese Version of An Inconvenient Truth

Half a year ago, a documentary called Under the Dome was released on China's social media and was spread in a rampant speed within several days. After disappearing from public scrutiny for a few years, the famous Chinese journalist and reporter Chai Jing shocked all the audiences with this anti-air pollution film. In this documentary, Chai Jing firstly narrated her awful encounter with haze in the past decade, and pointed out how horrible haze was in many Chinese metropolises and industrialized provinces. More importantly, Chai Jing indicated reasons for China's terrible haze and gave some practical suggestions to not only governments but also general public. Unquestionably, the release of Under the Dome raised big concerns among the vast audience and encouraged them to protect the environment, especially the air quality in China. If you want to get to know the air pollution in China in a more objective and detailed way, you should not miss this profound and unprecedented investigative documentary on Youtube :) Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6X2uwlQGQM
Don't forget to use the English subtitle if you cannot understand Chinese:)