Starry, Starry Night - NOT!

I've come to realize that there are certain things that we as Americans take for granted.  And I'm not talking about things like western-style toilets and always having a fork available at dinnertime.  I'm talking about things like blue skies and starry nights, two things that we have only seen once during our stay here in China.  And sadly, it's likely that these are things that are rarely, if ever, seen by the people who live in Shanghai, Xi'an and Beijing.  The pollution here is unreal.  I think everyone in the group has burning eyes and some of us are starting to cough, yours truly included.  It's time to break out the N95 respirator masks for real!  The sad thing is that the smog is thick enough to completely obscure things in the distance, everything nearby looks "foggy" and it was even hazy inside the Beijing airport, and yet by Beijing standards, this is "pretty good" air quality.  I'd hate to be here when things are considered bad.  Just take a gander at some of the following pictures and you'll see what I mean. 

Case closed.