When you look at that graph, and, indeed, today's, you'll notice that the peak moments coincide with low wind speeds. Winds are very strong in spring afternoons and I believe they blow a lot of the pollution away. When the wind dies down at night, the air fills up with pollution again. From diesel trucks, certainly, but construction, too. And agricultural stalk burning.
What puzzles me is that the humidity, which reaches 100% at night, doesn't precipitate the pollution. I thought it should?
Anyway, high AQI rates are common for Kunming in spring. But that doesn't mean it isn't utterly disgusting. We should all be aware that we're slowly being killed here.
Getting Away: Vang Vieng
发布者With regards to the roads, I have some first-hand experience, riding a bike in February 2012. Luang Prabang to Phou Khoun and Vang Vieng on highway 13 is pretty smooth sailing, until the last 15-20k before VV, where you suddenly get intermittent road-wide gravel gaps (at least one every 500m) until, well over 100km past VV, you reach the junction to Thalat, where you can opt for the much better maintained highway 10 to Vientiane.
Here is "highway 13", on one of its longer street-wide gravel gaps (imagine the dust):
www.crazyguyonabike.com/[...]
Kunming road beautification project initiated
发布者Less dirty buses and other vehicles you mean. And more terraces on the sidewalks, along with more balconies!
Kunming Fair again sets records
发布者It was also a great place to spend some time. Especially the Middle-Eastern section, where bearded patriarchs in expensive-looking garments showed their tapestries and jewels. Yes, it's all in a sterile modern building now, but I almost felt like in an Indian bazaar: with a little fantasy, the walls melt away, the scent of incense fills the air, camels lazily circle above the white roofs and fakirs test their arses.
A lot of the goods sold there were also fake (not real Jade, a different kind of Eaglewood). But the owners were mostly honest about it (though not everywhere, I learned from someone who worked there as a translator).
I went home with a couple of coins from Bhutan and an invitation to the country and a set of funny photos.
The fair moves on to Chengdu and Beijing after that. There it'll be free, because business with the locals is generally better, according to some salesman whose Chinese translator was surprised that I bought the 30 RMB ticket "just to look around".
Getting away: Haba Snow Mountain
发布者Ah okay :) I must've been lucky or the guards must've remembered me after exiting first.
I understand that you haven't made it to the top? I did this last year: getting to 5396m was a pretty sweet experience, but it would probably be unwise to do this without a guide. Especially if you've never been hypoxic on a mountain before (I hadn't).
Photos and story on www.crazyguyonabike.com/[...]
Getting away: Haba Snow Mountain
发布者If by bike, coming in from the East side of TLG will probably cost you nothing. I haven't ever been checked on that end despite my multiple entries and exits.