In honor of the first blue-sky day we’ve had in weeks, I’m posting photos I took during one of Beijing’s dust storms a while ago. These photos have not been photoshopped, the sky really was that color. I went out on my little scooter with a scarf wrapped around my head and had a ball of a time. Needless to say, I cleaned about a bucketful of sand out of my camera, hair and clothes afterwards!
Beijing dust storm.
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Africa to Asia 
#1 by totsymae1011 on March 6, 2012 - 12:15 pm
I like the sepia tone of the photos. Are sandstorms the norm around this time of year?
#2 by Celia on March 6, 2012 - 12:22 pm
Beijing is very dry and dusty in general, but during spring time we’ll see a sandstorm or 2 as well. Winds blow down from the Mongolian desert and bring all that dust with it, until the summer rains arrive and clear the sky. A few days under orange skies make me feel as if I’m living on Mars sometimes!
#3 by InsideJourneys on March 6, 2012 - 8:04 pm
You got in some great shots, here Celia. Isn’t the dust bad for your eyes and for breathing? As for your camera. And I didn’t realize Beijing was so dry — I’ve heard it’s dirty but never that it’s dry.
#4 by matthewswinney on March 7, 2012 - 6:27 am
Those are pretty amazing shots. I can see why there are dust storms, though, from all of the dirt and rubble lying around. Do you know what that is all from?