Family, Smog, Leaves – A Weekend in Beijing

How can you breathe in China? Does everyone really wear masks outside? China’s heavy smog has fascinated foreigners more than anything else, making China literally more mysterious than it already can be. Being back in Beijing for the first time in almost two years, however, I’ve noticed things beyond its imperfections and difficulties. The smog was apparent as soon as I first glanced outside of my plane window as we approached Peking International Airport. On the ride home, everything was hard to see, even though our apartment is technically in the suburbs of Beijing, where it’s less developed but populated…