Is It Fog or Smog?

You may notice in some of my pictures that I have and will post, especially from Shanghai, it seems foggy out. The forcast calls for clear sunny days and it still seems overcast.

Shanghai is a city of 17 million people and is still growing. There is construction all over town and the traffic is horrific with buses, moped and cars. So the fog you see is smog. I had asked Tom's boss after lunch about the weather in Shanghai and I asked if it ever was a clear day. He said not very often as there is always some degree of haze. The city itself is very clean as in people take pride and throw trach away. I am amazed at how I see hardly any paper or bottles on the sidewalks. There is always someone sweeping (with brooms made of sticks and dead greeneries) up the sidewalks and streets. That just seems to add to the particles in the air. Alot of people wear masks when they are out in town to help keep the pollution out of their bodies.

The day we walked Shanghai with Tom's co-worker, Berthold and his wife Marion, Emma was a disaster from head to toe when we got back. Her little hands were black along with her coat and pants. She wasn't really down on the sidewalk playing but she was running her hand over railings and getting up against some bushes. We all felt so gritty after being out all day long.

Luizhou, China seems to be very similar with this picture I painted for you but it only has a population of 1 million people. After a day of playing in the parks, Emma was filthy again. In these big cities there seems to be no grassy areas for her to play in. But I think if we live here in Shanghai, the apartment complexes seem to have small grassier areas for children to play in. That is what we noticed after being to Berthold and Marion's apartment. Here are a few pictures of our walk with Berthold and Marion along with a picture of a street cleaner. I am waiting for pictures from Marion to share our day spent with them in more detail.