While living in china...
-the air will kill you, so don't breath.
-the water will kill you, so don't drink it or anything with ice. In fact, don't use it to shower with, or brush your teeth with because it will still kill you.
-the food will kill you, so don't eat anything.
-car drivers will kill you, so stay away from roads.
-infectious diseases will kill you, so stay away from other people and animals.
-old age will kill you.

Hmm... Maybe this means that you should stay away from China...

Or just live, because you're going to die of something eventually anyway.

The title of this thread is - Is living in China hazardous to your health? I believe there are more than just environmental issues to this question such as air and noise pollution as stated above.

When choosing a place to live I am sure that most people have many different aspects of life to consider in making this choice. For example safety issues, social problems, environment, cost of living and many others.

My question is: Why are more and more westerners coming to China and what Push-Pull factors are involved? In other words, what pushes you out of your native country and what pulls you into China?

Also, this question depends on one's point of view. Is living in China more or less hazardous to your health then living in another country?

I think this will be a more realistic way of answering this question rather than focusing on just one aspect.

I see somebody commented on health care. My wife and I have both had health issues in Canada and in China. A few years back (in Canada) I underwent surgery to repair an incisional hernia. My intestines were trying to escape through the abdominal wall and there was danger of strangulation. The time from first doctor visit to surgery was 3 months - and that was classed as an emergency. The problem re-occured here in 2010, but they did not consider it an emergency and since it was the October holiday I had to wait a few DAYS.

My wife had continual high blood pressure problems in Canada. They sent her for all sorts of diagnostic tests and declared there was not problem. A doctor in Kunming did the first of those same tests and discovered an artery was 70% blocked (I could see it myself on the CT Scan). That type of problem takes years to develop and should have been caught back in Toronto.

The hospitals here are certainly less clean than in Canada, and privacy is non-existent, but what good is a clean private hospital if you can't get into it? I found the doctors and nurses to be very professional and was quite satisfied with the level of care I received.

I really wish the hospitals here would sort out the issue of reduced (or non-existent) services during holidays.

The air quality is good enough in Kunming that I don't think it poses a health hazard over the long run. Contrary to most other Chinese cities, where breathing the air is probably the same as smoking 1-2 packs of cigarettes a day. You can check the API index here if you want to compare the air quality to other cities: english.mep.gov.cn/

Today, Kunming air pollution levels are at 44 compared to 133 in Beijing. Huge difference. Kunming air pollution is consistently lower than most other cities in China.

As far as food goes, I'm concerned about the cheap recycled cooking oils used in most restaurants so I prefer to do a lot of cooking for myself and eat in western restaurants mostly when I go out. I don't go to Chinese restaurants too often anymore. In theory, Chinese food can be healthy, but not with the cheap recycled oils they're using. Then again, a lot of westerners have a poor diet, so that depends mostly on how much effort you invest in watching your diet rather than where you're living.

And Kunming has lots of sunshine, which more and more scientists are claiming is beneficial for health (in moderation). So it has the edge over many places in northern climates because it's warm and sunny most of the year. But you need to get out and exercise in the sun. Which I'm guilty of not doing enough of lately.

I think Kunming is one of the better places in China to remain healthy.

not sure I trust these official 'Air Quality' figures (english.mep.gov.cn/). they rate Beijing (with an official API of 133) as 'slightly polluted'. the API for Shenzhen today is 22... HALF of kunming's. I'm guessing their monitoring equipment is 'faulty' (the guy is drunk/corrupt) or there are 2 Shenzhens. I've lived near the place and there's no way that's right. back to the OP's question, Kunming is a little polluted but the city is small enough that you can get out and into to the mountains easily and quite quickly. from experience, I'd say that it's MUCH better for your health and life generally to live here, even with the construction projects, than in many of the other Chinese cities.

@debaser, the US embassy had their own readings in Beijing and they were different from these. But the point is they're accurate with respect to each other because they're measured the same way. So you can compare to other cities and get a general idea. But yeah, when they say 'slightly polluted', they're taking the piss and checking to see how gullible you are.

anyway, to quote Bob Dylan, you don't need a weatherman to see which way the wind blows. In Beijing, it's real BAD. Here, you can see the blue sky most days. That's good enough for me.

Hey Brad,

Welcome to Kunming!

No doubt, living in China is hazardous to your health, more so than many countries at the same level of development, with crazy traffic, constant noise, pollution of every kind, food impurities, etc. However, in comparison with virtually every other place in China (Hainan being the exception), the pollution in KM is very minor. All of the other factors (noise, traffic, food contamination) are bad everywhere, and in many places much worse.

But, your question was how to cope with all of it. I suggest you take as many weekend trips as possible to other cities, Chongqing for instance, or even Chengdu (has anyone honestly EVER seen the sun there?). When you return at the end of a frantic weekend, Kunming will seem like the oasis that it is.

And, no matter what, by the end of your stay here, your nervous system will have adjusted. You will no longer see the things that appall you now, you will sleep through horns, firecrackers, dogs, domestic violence and drunken revelry on a rock-hard bed without the aid of earplugs. You will no longer get laduzi. You will cross any street or highway against the light without the slightest fear or hesitation. Not sure if that's a good thing or not...

Be patient, you will adjust.

kml

@kemeilin If there was a 'thumbs up' or a ' + or - ' widget on these forums, this would get the thumbs up.

I may have become conditioned to sleeping through mayhem since I 'generally' now sleep like a log. Though I'm not sure it's a bonus to be conditioned to sleep through mayhem. That really could be detrimental to survival, let alone health, in certain circumstances.

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Would a rating system work on these forums?

@kemeilin If there was a 'thumbs up' or a ' + or - ' widget on these forums, this would get the thumbs up.

I may have become conditioned to sleeping through mayhem since I 'generally' now sleep like a log. Though I'm not sure it's a bonus to be conditioned to sleep through mayhem. That really could be detrimental to survival, let alone health, in certain circumstances.

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Would a rating system work on these forums?

Thanks for all the feedback and advice. The thing is maybe I've got too much expectation from Kunming. I've been a lurker on this site way before creating an account and have come away with the image of Kunming and Yunnan in general being a lot nicer than it is in reality. You sure cannot make out noise and pollution from all the beautiful pictures taken on this site and other travel guides and such.
Was out to Dali the last weekend, it seems like a good place, not bad for tourist town. The air is good, and walking up the mountain found some springs and the water is drinkable. Will be headed out to Lijiang and Shangrila soon to check them out.
Yup, the noise, it's hard to get used to. Lived in NYC for a couple years, but most day Kunming make NYC sound like a quiet village. The truck horns are the most annoying here. Just the other day, actually on the way back from Dali, on the highway between the old and new city, our taxi was on the median and a 16 wheeler came barrelling by and tooted it horn right in front of us, I swear my ears are still ringing. Isn't there a legal limit to the number of decibels you can have on a truck or car horn? And yes, there are plenty of annoying, high pitched horns as well. Guess I should start walking around with foamy earplugs .