Linfen, China: The world's most polluted city turns a corner

I first read about Linfen in a 2007 Time magazine article that called it the most polluted city in the world. In Linfen, the article said, the air was so dirty from coal mining that laundry hung outside to dry would turn black. “This place of ours is no good,” one local told the reporter. In a subsequent news article, a British reporter recalled how his eyes burned and nose bled when he traveled to Linfen, where ash fell from the sky. “If there is a Hell on Earth, this is it,” he wrote.

Three years after Linfen got such notable press, my husband and I decided to check out the northern Chinese city for ourselves. When I went to book the tickets, the first-class ones were oddly the same price as economy. We ended up flying first class to one of the most polluted places on the planet. 

Linfen: The most polluted city in the world

As our plane descends into the Shanxi province, a clear azure sky with wisps of white clouds slowly gives way to smog. For a few seconds, you can see the gradients of color, delineated like a paint sample. A brilliant blue bled into puffy cotton wisps of white, and finally, a jaundiced haze. A man next to me murmurs in Chinese bu qing qu. It’s not clear.

Our taxi driver on the way to Linfen, Mr. Wang, says the Shanxi province might have bad air, but it is where he has his life, his home, his work. “Zenme ban?” he says. What can you do about it? The economy is good and getting better, he says. Eventually, the environment will improve, too.

The Blacksmith Institute, the organization which did the 2007 pollution rankings, says residents “literally choke on coal dust.” The high levels of pollution were affecting locals’ health with growing numbers of respiratory diseases.

Shanxi province is the heart of China’s coal industry, a fuel that provides the majority of the country’s energy. Coal mining became the driver of Linfen’s economy, but it also led to pollution and safety issues with many small illegal mines operating without standards.

On our three-hour drive to see the Hukou waterfalls, our driver Mr. Jiang points out the places along the route where illegal miners once set up shop. As a result of the government crackdown, the air quality improved dramatically.

Still, he says, we are seeing Linfen at its best. In the cold winter months, when the country is running on heavy coal burning loads, the air can be insufferable. “Everyone over 60 dies of the lung sickness,” he says, in a matter-of-fact tone.

Back in the city, Linfen does not seem that dismal. Sure the sky isn't blue, but there are lots of green shrubs and flowers. People hang out on the sidewalks eating street food or snacking on apricots, giving the town a festive, street-fair feel.

I chat with a 20-something girl named Lili. She tell me she’s been outside of Linfen once on a trip to Beijing but she prefers her life in a smaller city. “Maybe someday I’ll move to a bigger city like Beijing,” she says. “But the people in Linfen are so warm and friendly. I feel so comfortable here.”

Later that night, we wander out to explore the central town square next to the drum tower. Linfen comes alive at night. Groups of teenagers play a version of Hacky Sack with a feathered birdy, called Chinese shuttlecock. Younger children roller skate. Couples waltz. The air is balmy and, under the jet black summer sky, the pollution invisible.

The square itself is pumping. A set of large speakers are set up in the corner and lines of men, women and children move in unison, country line dance style.

On the outskirts, mothers set up makeshift sandboxes and a baby pool with plastic fish the kids can fish out. The vibe was family oriented, and wholesome, like small town 1950s Americana.

A 15-year-old, surnamed Xiao, tells me she knows outsiders consider Linfen dirty. “We’re trying to change it, and it’s getting better,” she says. Xiao explains that recycling efforts have been gaining steam in recent years. People are picking up litter, and a truck now sprays water onto the streets to keep the dust down.

There are even solar panels on the roofs of some buildings. “But there’s nothing we can do about the coal mines,” Xiao says. “That’s our livelihood. That’s how people make money here and survive.”

Xiao isn’t the only one extoling the value of doing one’s part. This propaganda sign near the Hua Men, the city gate and one of Linfen’s major landmarks, says that a better life comes from protecting the environment.

In fact, the changes are reshaping Linfen to the extent that people are starting to enjoy aspects of their environment. In a city that just three years ago was considered the dirtiest on the planet, we spot a resident stopping to smell the roses.

When we board the train out of Linfen, I feel sad to go. Linfen’s people are friendly, honest, and open. There is a sense of optimism and hope about the future. This place of theirs may have been no good. But, like the rest of China, it is changing fast. The Linfen of 2007 is gone. The skies are clearing, the haze is lifting and life is getting better and better.

Schmitt is a Shanghai-based writer.

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