5Am. I feel so poisoned right now. My sinuses are trying like hell to purge the unnamed multitude of invaders. My lungs and throat burn. My eyes are gooey. My skin has aged years in a week. My head hurts. I just pieced together by threading some clues that the water made available in the last 2 hotels were bottled locally and are highly suspect.

Years of buying organic and slaving over meals to keep my family healthy have been undone here. I spent an hour last night debating whether the inhaler I have with me would open our lungs and lodge the P2.5 particulate deeper in or allow its release. After the internal debate, I juiced us all up with 2 puffs and everyone reported an amazing restoration of depth in their breathing.

We saw blue sky on the tv last night and all sighed. The kids looked out the window and asked what the black plumes were. It's the coal being burned to make electricity honey. Black and yellow make a weird color when mixed together mommy. Yes dear, and mix it with some desert dust and its not only an interesting color but a great lung penetrating brew.

All the online what-to-do data says not to exert yourself as the crap will be inhaled deeper in so working out to detox is off the list. So is drinking water for right now. Roadblocks, nothing but roadblocks.

It really feels like we have entered a futuristic movie with a precautionary tale. I am so sad right now that I have led the children into this toxic soup and will fear for years the long-term effects of it.

Looking forward to flying out of here today to Shanghai where the air has gone from unhealthy to moderate at a level of 64 now. Beijing is 163 and Xi'an down to 124. Just our luck we were here when the level was over 1300. Someone must have touched the Pixiu.

Still choking at 34.2683° N, 108.9419° E.

Air Quality Index (AQI)/Health Advisory

Good (0-50)/None

Moderate (51-100)/Unusually sensitive people should consider reducing prolonged or heavy exertion.

Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (101-150)/People with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion.

Unhealthy (151-200)/People with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion; everyone else should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion.

Very Unhealthy (201-300)/People with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children should avoid all physical activity outdoors. Everyone else should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion.

Hazardous (301-500)/Everyone should avoid all physical activity outdoors; people with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children should remain indoors and keep activity levels low.

China (501+)/Everyone should behave as normal and pretend they are not being poisoned, especially when foreigners are present.