A woman in Shanghai, who was seen commuting around the city with a bulky air purifier on her back, has caught the public's attention as poor air quality continues to affect people across the country.

As Shanghai's pollution went off the charts in recent days, Guangdong Television showed the woman carrying a 15-kilogram air purifier around as she went to the market and carried out her daily routine.

"The government hasn't taken strong measures to combat air pollution, so I had to come up with my own solution," the woman told the TV station, saying that wearing a mask everywhere is "too suffocating."

While some Net users wondered how the woman could stand to carry such a heavy appliance around, most praised her initiative.

"It's better to come up with a counter-measure to the pollution rather than just complain about it without taking action," said Net user Zhijiandepiaoyi.

But others accused the woman of making a meal out of the situation.

"This is an exaggerated and meaningless form of performance art," said a Net user.

But media reports said that mini-air purifiers, described by online sellers as "light and pretty enough to be worn as pendants," are getting popular.

Meanwhile, foreigners, too, are exploring ways to breathe better, said Net users, pointing out that a foreigner living in Beijing even invented a bike with an air purifying system.