A visitor wearing a mask walks outside the Forbidden City on a heavy haze day in central Beijing, Sunday. Authorities warned that a thick cloud of smog may not lift from the Chinese capital until midweek. As the dense smog shrouded large swathes of northern China, flights were canceled and traffic delayed as visibility was reduced to 100 meters in some areas. The dangerously poor air quality was highlighted by a steady stream of news broadcasts on state television, many of which warned residents against venturing outside.The pollution also provoked China's huge number of microbloggers to take to the internet, with some high-profile web-users calling for a re-evaluation of China's rampant modernization. — Reuters
