Severe smog brings mask panic buying

COMMON ISSUE

The Beijing Education Commission has ordered all kindergartens, primary and middle schools to suspend classes for the three days.

While some students were happy for an excuse to skip school, others thought the smog was not to be celebrated.

"I"d rather go to school on a nice day than stay at home to hide from the filthy air," said Li Yue, a fifth-grader at Cuiwei Elementary School in western Beijing.

The smog also affects hundreds of millions of people in Hebei, Tianjin, Henan and Shandong.

Zhou Junping, chief engineer of Zhuangda Glass in Hebei, home to Xingtai, the country's second worst polluted city in 2014, said people from all walks of life are coming to realize the urgency of cleaning up the air.

Authorities in Shahe have shut down over 90 glass production lines since 2013 and now the 52 existing lines are all equipped with treatment facilities and all meet environmental standards.

"The treatment costs add further woes to a struggling industry, but if the factories don't get greener and upgrade they will be shut down," said Zhou.

"What's more, all people wish to breathe clean air or we and our offspring will suffer alarming effects in coming decades," he said.