The haze in China was unbelievable. Before we left we had a chance to see numerous photos from our various speakers all of whom had traveled to China and it was quite easy to tell how bad it was because all of the photos were so dull and you could not see very far into the distance. I however loved this. I had taken photography this spring and have really fallen in love with sunsets and clouds in the sky and in a place like China it just seems easier to catch a glimpse of these things since you could actually look directly at the sun. There were actually very few days that we had trouble with the rays because most often they would not be very strong once they had finally reached the ground...dont get me wrong...it was downright hot...but I was happy that I was able to catch these few photographs of the sun and sunset on our river ride. There were also a few days when we woke up and looked into downtown Shanghai and you couldn't even see the tops of the skyscrapers. It almost looked like the buildings were unfinished because they just disappeared at the top into the white cloudiness...but unfortunately I do not have a photo.
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Shanghai did not look like the photos displayed on the billboards and touristy areas. Instead of a clear blue sky with a few fluffy clouds, the Shanghai sky was just as Rene described, gray and gloomy. However, our perception of the haze is only based on a few days there. There could have been some low barometric pressure causing the haze to linger. Or maybe its a high pressure system causing the haze to remain. I also talked to a gentleman who had many meetings in tall buildings in Shanghai. He said that although it looks like a thick foggy haze looming over the city, the fog layer is pretty thin, and if you go high enough in the building, a bright blue light brightens up offices.
Finally, when I stayed in Beijing, I saw a blue sky everyday, with the exception being the day it rained all day long. Maybe all the Olympic crack down talk is working in Beijing. It also may be that there are fewer people contributing in Beijing than in Shanghai.
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