A woman covers her face as she rides a bicycle during a sandstorm in Beijing on March 20, 2010. (Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images)
A man wearing a face mask walks in Tiananmen Square in Beijing during a sandstorm on March 20, 2010. (Liu Jin/AFP/Getty Images)Two men take their photo in Tiananmen Square in Beijing during a sandstorm on March 20, 2010. (Liu Jin/AFP/Getty Image)Beijing residents woke up Saturday, March 20 to find the Chinese capital covered in a film of yellow dust. A powerful sandstorm blew sand into Beijing from China's drought-stricken north. Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Xinjiang, Shanxi, Shaanxi provinces were also affected by the sandstorm.
China's national weather bureau told people to stay indoors, and if forced to go outside, to keep their mouths closed, explaining that the air quality would have an adverse effect on people's health.
