Beijing bans BBQs as it tries to win 2022 Olympics bid

Traveling to Beijing? Don't plan to snack on a kebab, Reuters reports.

The city has banned outdoor barbecues from restaurants in several neighborhoods, as it tries to lessen the notoriously bad air pollution that could be a strike against Beijing's bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Beijing's average PM2.5 levels, which measure the amount of hazardous particles in the air, hovered around 85.9 micrograms per cubic meters in 2014; the national air quality standard is 35 micrograms.

Public opinion seems to be that the city's factories are more to blame than BBQs, but "China is going all out to bring 'Olympic Blue' to Beijing," state news agency Xinhua reported.

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