@tigertiger: Your reference to "especially" is well-taken, as I intended that word to exclude concerns such as yours from the type of criticism I was addressing.

Kunming vs. Chinese cities or Kunming vs. international cities: different comparisons are valid in different contexts. Glass half-full, glass half-empty. In the context of of Chengdu1's post about seeking a city to move to in China, I think the former comparison is on point.

None of this is to suggest that blue skies are the same thing as AQI or that the air quality shouldn't be better. It's just that sometimes (such as with some posts in the "Air Quality!!! Kunming Not So Good" megathread) I get the feeling that people are talking about a different city.

In line with the gist of Ocean's and ricsnap's comments from yesterday, I am always surprised when people are especially critical of Kunming's air quality.

In statistical terms, Kunming's air pollution has been among the lowest of major Chinese cities when statistical rankings have been published (although it has been a while since I have seen a new one come out).

Anecdotally, I spent some time in a more northerly part of China where the air regularly smelled like coal and the haze was such that you literally could glimpse blue sky only a few times a month. This was in stark contrast with Kunming where the sky can be blue for weeks on end and the air quality is good enough that I generally just go about my day without paying it any mind.

P.S. You can probably fill in the gaps on other sites. For example, the listings at myasiantv.to/drama/like-a-flowing-river/ indicate that they have all of the episodes with subtitles.

@redjon777: If memory serves, there are two or three episodes without subtitles in the vicinity of episodes #30-35 -- all the rest have them.

This isn’t specifically Kunming-related, but in case anyone’s looking for a Chinese drama to watch: the series "Like a Flowing River" (大江大河) is quite good as such things go, and was a hit when it was released last year.

The series follows the stories of several young people during the early part of the reform and opening era. In addition, it offers a view of China's economic transformation from the inside. Accordingly, much of the plotline turns toward business & industry as the series wears on and the main characters begin their careers, so be forewarned if that's not your cup of tea.

The initial 47 episodes are on Youtube, almost all with English subtitles: www.youtube.com/[...]