Burning Coal

Living in China, you learn to appreciate blue sky days like this, however as the winter months kick in, and energy demand skyrockets, China's enormous array of coal plants step up a gear, sending pollution levels up too.

Well over half of China's energy needs are still supplied by coal, even though air pollution is a rising concern here, and although Beijing has been sending messages of sustainability out on the world stage, there is an estimated 700 new coal plants in planning, or being built by Chinese companies - with a fifth of those projects outside of China - this is nearly half of all new coal plants that will be built over the next decade.

In the past 5 years that I've lived in Shanghai, the government's effort to clean up the air has literally had a visible impact, but some believe that as the economy slows and China pulls the levers to keep the fire burning, air quality might fall down the list of importance, so perhaps the chimney peaking over the tops of these buildings will, unlike the ancient town it neighbours, not be a relic of history anytime soon.