People living in Beijing, Tianjin and neighboring Hebei province have been living with the headache of frequent smog in recent years. Some choose to leave the city for the short or long term to escape Beijing's serious air pollution, despite having homes equipped with air purifiers and other protective measures, Beijing News reported. However, many are conflicted, unsure whether to abandon the place where they have made their lives for years.

Fan Bei, who works at a Beijing-based mental health counseling company, plans to immigrate to America, even though she has lived in Beijing for 16 years. Already, she regularly flees from the smog for shorter periods of time, with the sole purpose of protecting her children's health.

Lan Yanfei, also a mother, has lived her whole life in Beijing. Nevertheless, she now plans to move to Lijiang in Yunnan province due to concerns about her children’s health. According to Lan, she began paying attention to air quality when the State Council issued its first air quality report and strengthened supervision over PM 2.5 in 2012. Although she knows there are alternatives to leaving, she believes it is an acceptable price to pay for her children's health.