Experts say "lung-cleansing travel" requires choosing the right destination

　　As spring blooms and flowers flourish, many pedestrians still wear masks.

　　A thin mask offers mere psychological comfort; expecting it to function like a gas mask in smoggy weather is pure fantasy. Hurried passersby resemble mobile vacuum cleaners, their lungs taking on the hue of range hood filters. Who’d willingly spend their precious few vacation days inhaling toxins in a "fog city"? Better to head to a place of pristine mountains and clear waters for some true "lung cleansing."

　　Avoid the noisy vehicles and bustling crowds of the city, find a nice island or forest to stay in, wander amidst negative ions, temporarily forget the battle against smog, and post a few Weibo updates to tempt colleagues and friends still trapped in the "all-encompassing smog"—what a lovely picture to imagine.

　　As smog sweeps across regions, the Maldives may be too far, but finding a place in China with lush greenery or pristine seas and soft sands to escape the haze has become a new travel hotspot for urbanites. Some southern travel routes are heating up, with domestic hotspots mainly concentrated in Sanya (Hainan), Xiamen (Fujian), and Lijiang (Yunnan). They share one common trait: fresh air.

　　Tourism bureaus in areas rich in natural scenery are busy promoting the "air card." The keyword for Fujian routes is "forest." The provincial tourism bureau launched the "Fresh Fujian" spring tourism series, themed "Freely Breathe in the Forest," recommending 20 key attractions to visitors, including scenic spots with excellent air quality such as Guling in Fuzhou, Xishan Hot Springs, Wuyi Mountain, and Yunshuiyao Ancient Town in Zhangzhou. Zheng Weirong, deputy director of the Fujian Provincial Tourism Bureau, claimed that Fujian’s forest coverage rate has ranked first nationwide for years, making it the country’s "greenest" province and the only one where water, air, and ecological environments have maintained top-tier quality for years. The tourism department organized this activity to comprehensively showcase Fujian’s ecological resources.

　　Every place backed by green mountains and surrounded by clear waters is following the "forest oxygen bar" route. Tourist spots like Phoenix Ancient Town in western Hunan, the Li River in Guilin, and Zhangjiajie in Sichuan are seeing a general surge in popularity. Large numbers of tourists opt to escape the smog in mountainous and watery regions—whether these spots are truly "forest oxygen bars" or not, at least the green mountains and clear waters are easy on the eyes and lungs.

　　In the "air show" competition, besides highlighting "mountainous areas," other scenic spots market their islands, with Hainan being the hottest. While residents in many cities across the country struggle with smoggy weather, Sanya’s API (Air Pollution Index) consistently ranks among the best in the 121 monitored cities nationwide. Its top-tier air makes visitors wish they could "pack a few cans to take home," and many regularly come to live like islanders.

　　But during this shocking smog episode in China, Hainan’s performance wasn’t perfect either. Though Sanya maintains excellent environmental and air quality, Haikou also experienced scenes of the coconut city shrouded in fog, with air quality classified as "lightly polluted." Few travelers would willingly move from a "severely polluted" area to a "lightly polluted" one, and if current trends aren’t reversed promptly, it’s hard to say whether all of Hainan might "fall."

　　Compared to crowded famous attractions, some small cities along the southeast coast are more suitable for vacations. For example, scattered across the sea between Fuqing City and Putian are many small islands and fishing villages, with even smaller islands and fishing hamlets around them. Veteran travelers prefer to find a guesthouse by the sea, watching fishermen set sail, making such leisurely wandering all the more pleasant.

　　However, using just two or three long holidays a year to breathe fresh air is still too little time, and people are also starting to seek "green lungs" in their urban surroundings, allowing for a "breath of fresh air" every weekend. The suburban mountainous areas of Beijing have launched many weekend tour products for "forest bathing" in fresh air, while Shanghai residents are keen on heading to Dongshan in Suzhou or the wetlands in Hangzhou. But being located near major "pollution" sources, the air in these places may not be all that great.

　　In smoggy weather, won’t you get lung cancer if you don’t "flee"?

　　Dr. Ji Jie, director of the Guangde Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic, believes that tumor formation has many causes, such as genetics or old lesions turning cancerous. Smog isn’t a direct cause of tumors, but it can increase the incidence of many respiratory diseases among modern people.

　　"In a good air environment, one person’s cold might not infect many, but when smog is severe, one sneeze leaves the virus indoors, and your whole family might catch it," Ji Jie said. Because smog intensifies virus transmission, expanding its reach, it can easily trigger acute bronchitis, asthma, COPD, and other diseases.

　　Recently, the incidence of colds has been high. Many outpatients with colds show no elevated white blood cell counts—it’s viral, and antibiotics are largely ineffective against viruses. "Now the air is worse, and viruses are more complex, constantly mutating. Modern medicine can’t prescribe targeted treatments." Abroad, even vitamin C is used to treat viral colds, boosting patients’ immunity.

　　With worsening air quality, severe respiratory illnesses are now more common than before. "Diseases that didn’t occur in the past are happening now, and those that weren’t serious before have worsened due to environmental changes." Air pollution accelerates the deterioration of some respiratory diseases, leading to more severe cases than before.

　　Can travel really reduce smog damage? Ji Jie suggests that for some respiratory disease patients, living long-term in a good environment can slow the progression of the disease. For example, pneumoconiosis is lung fibrosis caused by long-term exposure to special environments, and changing the living environment can extend patients’ lives.

　　Abroad, doctors often recommend that respiratory disease patients recuperate in places of pristine mountains and clear waters, which can aid treatment. For example, St. Moritz in Switzerland is a famous alpine hot spring resort area and has long been a top choice for relocation among many respiratory disease patients. "When patients move to a dry climate with good air and combine it with other treatments, an illness that would normally take a year to recover from might only take six months. Some Chinese asthma patients stop having attacks in Australia precisely because the local air is health-promoting."

　　Ji Jie believes not all tourist spots are suitable for "lung cleansing." There are two criteria for choosing "smog-avoidance travel": one is mountainous and watery areas with high green coverage, and the other is places with few tourists. Some attractions marketed as "natural oxygen bars" indeed have better air than cities, but during long holidays, the crowds are immense, and the air you breathe is just other tourists’ exhaled carbon dioxide. Moreover, if a tourist is in the incubation period of a contagious virus before travel and becomes symptomatic at the attraction, others can easily catch it. So crowded places shouldn’t be chosen as "smog-avoidance" destinations.

　　Now "forest bathing" has become a fashionable travel choice for many urban white-collar workers, but forests aren’t necessarily suitable for everyone as a recuperation spot. Ji Jie believes that because forests are heavy with dew in the early morning and evenings, with high humidity, they can trigger some diseases. According to traditional Chinese medicine theory, dampness can cause many problems—it’s heavy and turbid, leading to heaviness in the head and lightness in the limbs, overall weakness, and symptoms like sluggish bowel movements. In severe cases, spleen-strengthening and dampness-resolving medications are needed. "Even if you choose forest recuperation, it’s not recommended to go for walks too early, as morning humidity is high and temperatures are low, which is bad for the respiratory tract. Tourists can go out around 8 a.m. when the sun rises to breathe fresh air."

　　Though strolling amid negative ions for a few days brings joy to both body and mind, relying on two or three annual holidays of "lung cleansing" to counteract smog damage is overly optimistic.

　　Ji Jie believes that recuperating in a good air environment can aid the recovery of respiratory patients, but it can’t replace medical treatment. Urbanites using just one week of long holidays to "lung cleanse" basically has little effect; staying in the location for a while is necessary for results. "Travel cheers people up, which helps improve conditions. But if you follow a tour group on a tight schedule during the holiday, exhaustion can easily trigger tracheitis or chronic bronchitis flare-ups."

　　According to traditional Chinese medicine theory, people should adapt to the environment—it’s impossible to change the environment for humans. Therefore, rather than "avoiding smog," enhancing one’s own "vital qi" is most important. That is, using health methods to boost immunity is the fundamental way to deal with smog.

　　The "Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon" states: "When vital qi resides within, evil cannot invade." As environmental pollution intensifies and air quality deteriorates, various respiratory infectious diseases like SARS and avian flu have entered the modern lexicon. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that using herbs to tonify the spleen and kidneys, enhance immunity, and reduce the chance of viral invasion is the root solution. During the SARS period, it was said that the nationally renowned TCM master Professor Huang Jigeng, as deputy head of the SARS medical team, never wore a mask during outpatient consultations. He explained that he felt his own vital qi was strong, making him less susceptible to evil invasion.

　　How should people "adapt to smog" in daily life? Traditional Chinese medicine believes that smog occurs in humid conditions and is related to ancient dampness-related illnesses. Taking lung-clearing and qi-tonifying herbal decoctions to replenish lung qi and strengthen vital qi can combat smog. Contemporary TCM master Lu Guangxin has a simple remedy—he often advises patients to soak their feet in Sichuan pepper water. The method: 10 grams of Sichuan pepper, wrapped in gauze, boiled in an appropriate amount of water. Once the water cools to a suitable temperature or is mixed with cool water, soak your feet for about 20 minutes before bed each day. The 10 grams of Sichuan pepper can be reused multiple times until the flavor fades. Traditional Chinese medicine follows the principle of "treating upper issues by treating lower parts." Sichuan pepper foot soaks promote blood circulation, dispel cold, and have a dehumidifying effect, enhancing the respiratory barrier.

　　“Instead of traveling short-term to escape the smog, it’s better to take care of your body—eat more vegetables and fruits to nourish your vital energy. During the peak cold season, you can take Fangfeng Tongsheng Pills appropriately to ward off viruses,” said Ji Jie.

　　Suzhou is Shanghai’s backyard garden—one hour’s drive is all it takes to shift the scenery from urban to garden-like. If Shanghainese only visit Suzhou Amusement Land, they’re missing out on the lake and mountain views. Dongshan and Xishan in Suzhou are new smog-free destinations. Also known as Dongshan of Taihu Lake’s Dongting area, Dongshan is a peninsula extending over 40 kilometers southwest of the ancient city of Suzhou, surrounded by water on three sides, with lake views stretching to the horizon and dotted with fishing sails and seagulls. Dongting Xishan, also located in Taihu Lake, is 11 kilometers wide from north to south, 15 kilometers long from east to west, and covers an area of 79.8 square kilometers, making it the largest island in China’s freshwater lakes. Together with 34 surrounding small islands, it forms a massive landscape bonsai. Dongting East Mountain, Dongting West Mountain, and 72 peaks including Guangfu Dengwei create the expansive Taihu Scenic Area.

　　Hainan consistently ranks at the top of China’s air quality list, making it a popular smog-free destination. But with increasing tourist numbers and rising costs, Sanya’s beaches and some fishing ports and seaside towns are not much different from elsewhere. In recent years, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Southeast Asian islands like Phuket and Boracay has surged rapidly. In terms of resource quality, many Southeast Asian islands are comparable to Sanya, but they outshine it with better consumption environments and cleaner beaches.

　　The natural beauty of the Maldives is beyond doubt. Beyond the well-known Chinese tourist destinations like Kani Island and Full Moon Island, high-end islands such as Velavaru Island (aka AV Island), North Island (aka W Island), Hakuraa Huraa, and Iru Fushi are also attracting more attention from Chinese travelers. Comparable to the crystal-clear waters and white sands of the Maldives is Mauritius, an island nation in eastern Africa consisting of the island of Mauritius and other smaller archipelagos, surrounded by coral reefs. The island features diverse landscapes and spectacular scenery. Along with the Maldives and Seychelles, it is ranked among the three jewels of the Indian Ocean and is one of the purest places today. In 2012, the World Health Organization released a global air quality ranking, with Estonia, Mauritius, and Canada taking the top three spots.

　　Aside from islands, snow-covered Hokkaido in Japan is also a great choice for “lung cleansing.” The snow there is soft, pure white, and the air is first-class, attracting skiers from around the world every year.

　　Qiandao Lake Forest Oxygen Bar is located on Tanzhu Prince Mountain in Qiandao Lake Town, on the picturesque southeastern edge of Qiandao Lake, adjacent to National Highway 320 and just a 15-minute drive from Chun’an Qiandao Lake Town. The forest oxygen bar lies within a national subtropical secondary forest reserve, surrounded by lush mountains and beautiful lake bays. The area is home to over 300 plant species and boasts the country’s largest wild sweet chestnut forest. Ecological experts have measured the oxygen bar’s air to contain 58,000–62,000 negative oxygen ions per cubic centimeter.

　　Shunan Bamboo Sea is located in Changning and Jiang’an counties in the Yibin region of Sichuan, covering a total area of over 60,000 acres and has been a famous scenic area since ancient times. The bamboo sea is 20 kilometers from Changning County, spanning 120 square kilometers, with elevations between 400 and 1,000 meters. On 28 mountain ridges and over 500 small hills, dense groves of nanmu bamboo and more than ten other bamboo varieties thrive. The temperatures here range from no lower than 0°C to no higher than 30°C, offering a pleasant climate that is warm in winter and cool in summer. The dominant bamboo species are nanmu with diameters of about 10 cm, growing densely root-to-root with lush foliage.

　　Jiuzhaigou National Forest Park is located in the transition zone from the Sichuan Basin to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The park has a forest coverage rate of over 70% and is home to more than 1,200 species of higher plants, including over 30 rare species such as yew, Picea brachytyla, Sichuan spruce, Himalayan cypress, Cercidiphyllum japonicum, and Lilac. Additionally, rare wildlife such as giant pandas, takins, golden monkeys, tufted deer, and otters inhabit the forest. The Ganhaizi scenic area centers around a group of Ganhaizi lakes, surrounded by dense valleys, rivers, waterfalls, pristine forests, and distinct alpine vertical vegetation zones.

　　Luntai County is situated at the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains and the northern edge of the Tarim Basin. The Tarim Populus Euphratica Forest National Forest Park here combines the natural landscapes of the Tarim River, populus euphratica, and desert. It encompasses over 400,000 acres of populus euphratica forest, making it the oldest, largest, most well-preserved, and most pristine populus euphratica forest reserve in the world. The park covers a total area of 100 square kilometers. The sightseeing area within the Tarim Populus Euphratica Forest Park consists of a roughly 17-kilometer-long scenic road with 126 bends, lined with uniquely shaped populus euphratica trees along the way.

　　The Xishuangbanna Tropical Rainforest Nature Reserve is located in Jinghong, Mengla, and Menghai counties in southern Yunnan’s Xishuangbanna Prefecture. Covering a total area of 2,420.2 square kilometers, its tropical rainforest, South Asian tropical evergreen broad-leaved forest, rare flora and fauna, and overall forest ecosystem are invaluable, making it the world’s only well-preserved, large contiguous tropical forest. The reserve contains eight vegetation types, over 3,500 species of higher plants (about 1/8 of the national total), including 58 species of rare and endangered plants under national protection, accounting for 15% of the country’s protected plants.

　　Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is located in Zhangjiajie City in northwestern Hunan Province. It is China’s first national-level forest park and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a natural heritage site. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Technical Evaluation Report noted: “Wulingyuan can be compared to several national parks and monuments in the western United States. Wulingyuan possesses undeniable natural beauty, with its magnificent and rugged stone peaks, lush vegetation, and clear lakes and streams.” Zhangjiajie’s forest resources are exceptionally rich, with a forest coverage rate of 97.7%.