北京商場爲攬客展開“空氣戰”

Shopping malls in China’s smog-bound capital are vying for customers by advertising the quality of their indoor air, as weeks of choking winter pollution keeps families indoors.

在中國霧霾籠罩的首都北京，商場正通過宣傳它們的室內空氣質量有多麼好來爭搶顧客，因爲數週以來令人窒息的冬季空氣污染讓許多家庭選擇足不出戶。

Chinese malls rely heavily on children’s play areas, restaurants and even gimmicks such as polar bears to lure shoppers, in a highly competitive sector plagued by massive overbuilding. That poses a problem on days when hazardous air quality keeps families with small children at home, leading many malls to turn to cleaner air as a selling point.

受到嚴重的過度建設困擾，中國零售業的競爭相當激烈，商場嚴重依賴兒童遊樂區、餐廳、甚至北極熊這樣的噱頭來吸引購物者。在空氣質量危害健康的日子裏，有幼童的家庭選擇待在家中，這就給商場製造了一個難題，導致許多商場選擇把更清潔的空氣作爲一個賣點。

Average air quality in Beijing had improved over the past year, but a bout of thick winter smog beginning in November has had citizens, and particularly parents, griping. Air indexes have stayed stubbornly in the “hazardous” zone in the capital, while the industrial cities of the north China plain have gone off the charts for several days running.

過去一年，北京的平均空氣質量有所改善，但從去年11月開始的一輪嚴重的冬季霧霾讓民衆、尤其是父母們很揪心。在北京，空氣指數一直頑固地停留在“危險”區，而華北平原的工業城市已連續幾天空氣指數爆表。

Early in January, the national observatory issued its first-ever red alert for fog across large swaths of north China. An even larger region is under orange alert for smog, after red alerts late last month forced traffic off the roads and closed some schools.

1月初，中國中央氣象臺在華北大部地區發佈了首個大霧紅色預警。啓動霾橙色預警的地區範圍更大。上月底發佈的紅色預警曾導致車輛限行和學校關閉。

China has a national standard for indoor levels of PM10, airborne particles smaller than 10 microns across, and Beijing is working on standards for PM2.5, the fine particles that pose an even greater danger to health. The city’s standards for internal air quality were originally expected to be issued in 2016.

中國已有針對室內空氣PM10（空氣中直徑小於10微米的顆粒物）濃度的國家標準。北京市正在研究PM2.5的標準，這種細顆粒物對健康的危害更大。外界最初曾預計，北京市會在2016年發佈室內空氣質量標準。

But as the public becomes increasingly concerned about air pollution, high-end malls in Beijing have taken to publishing their indoor air quality on digital screens in the central atrium. Joy City, a mall developer in Beijing, announced on social media it had installed a multilayer air filter: “Let’s escape from smog and feel the beauty of the nature,” it said.

不過，隨着公衆日益擔憂空氣污染，北京的高端商場已經着手在中庭的電子屏幕上發佈它們的室內空氣質量。北京的商場大悅城(Joy City)曾在社交媒體上宣稱它擁有多層空氣過濾設施：“讓我們逃離霧霾，感受自然之美。”

Wanda, a property developer with malls in most of China’s medium-to-large cities, announced a year ago it was working with Finnish air purification company AAVI Technologies to clean the air in its cinemas in Beijing. The co-operation would “enable the audience in Wanda to have a very healthy movie-viewing environment and enjoy the clean air from Finland,” AAVI said.

在全國許多大中城市建有商場的開發商萬達(Wanda)曾在一年前宣佈，正與芬蘭空氣淨化公司AAVI科技有限公司(AAVI Technologies)合作，淨化北京市萬達影城內的空氣。AAVI表示，這一合作會“讓萬達影城內的觀衆擁有非常健康的觀影環境，享受來自芬蘭的清潔空氣”。

The malls are not alone. International schools in Beijing woo prospective parents on the quality of their air and the strictness of their guidelines for recess outside, with some building domes over tennis courts and playing fields. High-end gyms also compete on their air filtration capacity. Coffee shops post signs saying air filters are on.

商場並不是唯一這麼做的機構。北京的國際學校也用其空氣質量和其暫停戶外活動的規定之嚴格來吸引潛在的學生家長，部分學校在網球場和操場上加蓋了穹頂。高端健身房也在空氣淨化能力上展開競爭。咖啡店則張貼告示稱，自己店內開着空氣淨化器。

This week, the city announced it would install air filters in state-run preschools, elementary schools and high schools. In some, parents have already joined forces to pay for filters themselves.

就在本週，北京市宣佈會在公立幼兒園和中小學安裝空氣淨化器。在部分學校，已有家長自掏腰包、聯合出資購買空氣淨化器。

But a group of fed-up mothers who have checked the malls’ air quality claims have found not all the malls or shops are filtering as well as they claim.

不過，一羣對商場宣稱的空氣質量作過檢測的媽媽沮喪地發現，並非所有商場和店鋪都像其聲稱的那樣在淨化空氣。

“When we got the results, all of us were shocked and very disappointed. I was about to cry,” said Yan Jiangning, who set up a public social media account called Daxiaoaiwan or “Big and Small Love Playing” that rates play venues for small children. Ms Yan organised volunteers to check the air quality in 60 public spaces in Beijing in mid-December, when the outdoor quality index hovered around 500 (anything under 100 is considered good air quality). Many turned out to be little better than the air outside.

“大小愛玩”公號的創立者嚴江寧表示：“檢測結果出來時，我們都很震驚，也很失望。我差點哭了。”“大小愛玩”是一個點評推薦親子活動場所的社交媒體公衆號。去年12月中旬，嚴江寧組織志願者檢測了北京60處公共場所的空氣質量，當時北京市戶外空氣質量指數徘徊在500左右（該指數低於100被視爲空氣質量良好）。結果顯示，許多場所的空氣質量並不比戶外好多少。

Their best result? The National Museum beside Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, which was recently renovated with advanced air control systems to protect the art works on display.

他們檢測出的空氣質量最佳的場所是？北京天安門廣場旁的國家博物館。那裏最近翻修過，安裝了先進的空氣控制系統，以保護館內展出的藝術品。