Parents in Beijing welcomed free daycare centers following the suspension of classes due to the city's first red alert status from extreme smog.
Classes at kindergartens and primary schools have been suspended until Wednesday, after China issued red alerts across 23 cities last week, the highest level in China's four-tiered pollution warning system.
Many daycare services in Beijing, set up for the convenience of parents who need to work despite the red alert, offer free classes in Chinese, math, English, music and sports, and only seek a minimal charge for meals.
"I spend my 'smog holiday' with my two other friends. After I finish my homework, I do handiwork with my friends," a child was quoted by the Beijing Youth Daily as saying.
Live streaming services are even applied in many high schools, such as the Beijing Second high school, which shows 36 live streaming classes for students during the suspension of classes, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday.
Heavy smog engulfed Beijing for a fourth straight day on Tuesday, with the current Air Quality Index (AQI) exceeding 350, and the visibility in some areas of the city reduced to 50 meters.
About 217 flights from the Capital International Airport have been cancelled due to poor visibility. Many highways and Beijing's sixth ring road were also closed.
Data released by the Ministry of Environmental Protection on Monday shows 71 cities in China have been choked by heavy smog. The level of PM 2.5, fine particulate matter, soared to 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter in Shijiazhuang, capital of North China's Hebei Province, according to Xinhua.
