Tianjin and many cities in Hebei and Shandong provinces were also hit by heavy air pollution, with Xingtai and Dongying having PM2.5Â readings above 250.
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The environmental watchdog advised that children, the elderly and people with respiratory or cardiovascular diseases stay indoors to reduce the risk from polluted air.
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The Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau said it will send more water-spraying vehicles on the road, and strictly monitor polluting enterprises and construction sites to reduce dust and emissions.
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It also suggested that residents use public transportation.
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The Beijing Environmental Monitoring Center asked the public to put on protective masks when going out.
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Meanwhile, as people become more aware of air pollution, consumers are racing to get air purifiers in their homes.
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Huang Xiaoping, manager of J&D Activated Carbon Filter Co, a company that produces filters for household air purifiers, said its business is booming in China, and the market is a lot bigger than that in the US.
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"We started the business in 2002, and the recent two years witnessed rapid growth," he said at an international air purifier exhibition in Beijing.
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The three-day exhibition, held by the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences, kicked off at the National Agriculture Exhibition Center on Monday.
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More than 20 percent of the households in the US are equipped with an air purifier, and the figure is similar in Japan, in sharp contrast with China, where only a small percentage of families are using a purification system, he said.
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Zhao Yusen, sales director of Beijing Greentech Co, a dealer of a US-brand air purifier located in Beijing, said he was confident about the future of the air purification market in China.
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"We are confident about our sales, both due to our technology and the great potential of the market," he said.Â
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Tianjin and many cities in Hebei and Shandong provinces were also hit by heavy air pollution, with Xingtai and Dongying having PM2.5Â readings above 250.
