On the outskirts of Beijing, the disused factories of Chaomidian show the impact of China's drive to shut down thousands of small firms causing big pollution. Amid scrap heaps and idle machinery, the community has clean air these days — and no jobs.
After a three-year campaign, China's push to cut smog appears to be paying off, whatever the localized cost, just as economic growth weakens to its slowest pace in 25 years. Chinese cities saw an average 10 percent drop in key pollutants last year, according to Greenpeace.
While a World Health Organization report in 2014 found 13 of the world's 20 dirtiest cities were in India, a still smog-bound Beijing issued its first pollution "red alerts" last month. Soon after, the capital said it would shut down 2,500 more small firms this year, leaving communities like Chaomidian, in the southwest suburb of Fangshan, in the firing line.