I'm moved into an old building, and I just noticed that some of the paint is peeling and has a fluffy white layer behind it. I've read that some old textured paints could have asbestos in them and am pretty concerned. Is there anyone in Kunming who can test whether my apartment has asbestos?

With textured paints, the asbestos would be in the paint and not behind it.

The health hazards from asbestos are from breathing the dust, which usually occurs when working with the stuff. Mostly cutting it, or sanding it.

There is asbestos everywhere in China. Lock it up behind paint is a quick solution to your problem. Don't do anything that might liberate any dust from suspect material.

If you find a body that could test, remember that any negative test reports can be made to 'go away' with the appearance of a red envelope. The building management would be a little poorer and you would be none the wiser. Kunming is the perfect environment for this, well documented.

Thanks, tigertiger. Here is a photo of what it looks like: secure.flickr.com/photos/95286164@N04/8686408672

I'm starting to think that it's just mold or a calcium deposit, because this is really only present outside the bathroom, where the walls have water damage. It probably doesn't make sense to put asbestos on a concrete wall, anyway, but stranger things have been known to happen in China. It looks like there is a layer of paint, then a layer pf plaster/fuzz then the concrete most deep. If it's not asbestos, I suppose hiring some guys to haphazardly paint over everything is the way to go.

Apart from the picture looking like a remote satellite image of a high plains desert. It is had to tell anything.

I would be inclined to paint over it to seal it in.
If you tell the owner, the worst case would be that they send in some decorator who rips everything out and spreads the dust everywhere.

Even if not asbestos, it could still be hazardous. They make drywall from industrial ash en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_drywall . No telling what is in the walls of a cheap apartment. Your problem could be caused by something similar.

Probably no more/less harmful than eating out or consuming dairy products. Welcome to the big C.

I would say this is calcium and salt deposits.

Cement is like a sponge, the water absorbed from inside the bathroom is evaporated on the outside wall resulting in calcium and salt deposits under the paint.
Eventually the pressure created from accumulation pops the paint layer open.
Nothing to worry, just typical crap construction but when it was bought a few years ago for millions it was beautiful....everything is crap in china..

In other areas in china/ yunnan which are not as dry ( less evaporation rate on the outside wall) you would also have black mold or other growth ...

Thanks! I really appreciate the comments, as I was rather concerned. What you're saying about the calcium and drywall hazards makes sense. There is a little black mold by the floor sink in that room, and the moldy smell is a bit strong.

I'm going to look into hiring a some painters. Hopefully that will cover things up and last for a few months.

Cheers.

Mold ??? Zap it with Bleach in a spray applicator.... avoid breathing bleach....