Air Quality in Nanjing & Shanghai

Hey there,

I am a local living in Nanjing, so I am a proper Nanjinger. I am very glad to answer your questions.

I think the air pollution here is not that scary, I know quite a lot of westerners living and studying in Nanjing, we hang out every week and they don't wear masks or something like that to protect themselves, not even once! Most of the time, the air quality is OK, but compare to Canada, it's crap I suppose. The internet data sometimes can not reflect the whole reality, actually I haven't seen people wear masks walking in the street for a long time. It also depends on the area you live. if you live near the city centre, due to the very bad traffic you can't expect too much about the air quality, can you? However, living in a relative far place could solve this problem to some extend, I am living in a place which was recognised as a rural area several years ago, but now as we have metros, to get to the city centre from my home, it usually takes me less than 1 hour, which in my opinion is not too bad. The average time is 40 mins.

Therefore, if you do care about the air quality, you can live a little it far away of the city centre or wear a mask to protect yourself. Also, I think to live in the house which is surrounded by trees is a good idea.

I hope it's helpful Best of luck and welcome to China!

When I moved to China it took me some time to adjust to the pollution.  I was accustomed to blue sky and clear blue water.  But eventually one adapts.