With high air pollution levels in Chinese cities, people are beginning to sell mountain air. Yesterday, the Laojunshan Mountain Nature Reserve shipped 20 bags of air,a distance of 120 miles, to the capital of the Henan province, Zhengzhou. Citizens of one of the ten top most polluted cities in China lined up, to pay for the chance to breathe in “clean mountain air.” The event was held “to show oxygen-deprived city residents what they’re missing.”
The importing of air is not a new idea, Chen Guangbiao, a Chinese tycoon, began selling “canned air” in 2012, but does show how bad air pollution in Chinese cites is becoming. Zhengzhou, for example, had an AQI of 158 on Monday. Bakersfield, CA, Americas most polluted city, only had an AQI of 45. High levels of pollution in Chinese cities is well documented and is by not means breaking news, but events like this help illustrate just how bad the air pollution is in some cities is becoming.
While this story is certainly a vivid reminder of the air quality issues in China, I think it is a testament to the fact that entrepreneurial minded individuals will find opportunity in even unlikely scenarios. Here, we take air for granted, but clean air offers an opportunity for profit in China.
This kind of product could certainly become a hot commodity in the next few years, especially if the pollution situation does not improve. It would be interesting if different varieties of “fresh air” were introduced (ie. ocean air).
You find oxygen spas in many countries – I know there’re ones in the Detroit and in the Charlotte airports.