Pollution-hit Chinese city gets packaged fresh mountain air

Residents of Zhengzhou, the pollution-racked capital of China’s Henan province, received a treat on Saturday when they were provided with bright blue bags of fresh mountain air.

The organisers, a Henan-based travel company, say the event was held to promote tourist resorts from the nearby Laojun Mountain, where the air originated, about 120 miles from Zhengzhou. They hoped to attract more visitors to their area.

A woman helps her small son put on a mask connected to a plastic bag of fresh mountain air. Image by Reuters.

Zhengzhou is none of China’s top 10 most polluted cities, according to the country’s environmental ministry. Pollution in Chinese cities has been a matter of great concern and made plenty of headlines recently. 

A woman breathes through a mask connected to a plastic bag with fresh mountain air. Image by Reuters.

This is not the first time packaged air has been sold in the country. A Chinese tycoon began selling air in cans in 2012.