China choking through alarming levels of smog. Twenty-two cities delcaring red alerts under blackening skies, a maximum warning only issued under forecasts of intense or long-lasting air pollution. Monday marks day three under extreme haze. (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) HOTEL MANAGER, CHEN XIAOCHONG, SAYING: "Beijing's pollution is very fierce, very serious. When I went out yesterday I didn't wear a mask and my throat really hurt, hurt a lot. I felt dizzy and it was hard to breathe through my nose." Authorities have ordered residents to stay indoors, and in a bid to clear the hair, they've ordered some vehicles off the road. Dozens of flights have been grounded while major highways and more than a thousand factories have been shut. For many though, it's business as usual -- at the risk of serious health effects. (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) FOOD DELIVERY GUY, SUN XUEFENG, SAYING: "We're food delivery guys, we spend the whole day running about so the pollution has a big effect on us, you can't see clearly and there are a lot of cars and people on the road." Air quality readings have hit an eye-watering 400 in the city of Tianjin outside the capital, where 300 is considered hazardous by international standards As winter kicks in, China is firing up more and more of its coal-fired power stations, many of them working overtime. Especially in China's frigid northeast, currently the worst place for the country's choking haze. ENDS
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