My two feng's worth:
There is not a way to keep the crap out unless you hermetically seal your apartment. The crap is flying about in the air and although you might keep the larger particles out with a closed window, in our apartment you can see that the wind comes under the skirting board too. I can tell because there are little patches of dust on the floor where the wind comes in !!

Air purifiers might help but I feel that it is fighting a lost cause. The real solution is long-term stopping of the building work and coal-fired central heating (which the authorities are now changing to gas-fired). Of course, it is all over China, and not just here in Beijing so it is a nationwide problem of pollution.

As far as your coughing is concerned, you might like to consider how to make yourself less susceptible to the dust particles irritating your throat. It might be that you have an allergic reaction to a kind of dust or chemical. Boosting your immune system might help this or some kind of test to see if you do have an allergic reaction which is making the coughing worse.

Sometimes our physical reactions to things are triggered by previous experiences. As an example I have heard how asthmatics sometimes get worse asthma just be being in a stressful situation. As another example, my uncle used to get bad asthma if he saw a field of hay on the TV!

Villa Lifestyles sells a brand called IQAir (advertised this month in tbjhome) ... I can't vouch for the brand but Villa Lifestyles is run by an expat who also sells things like Xmas trees and outdoor grills ..

contact them at
villalifestyles@hotmail.com
Mike @ 1391 187 9236
Store: 6457 1922

1 word for you: IQair. Your cough will be gone soon, friend!

I cannot speak highly enough of them.

Our Yadu barely did anything to clean the air. It was like living in Los Angeles on the single worst day of the year....except for us here in China it's year-round. Villa Lifestyles can do a particle test if you're unsure how in/efficient your current air filters are, and/or how bad the air is in your home vs. outside. The Yadus have a hepa filter, but the design is such that the air just goes around the filter. It's crummy, really. I don't know what they go for these days, but ours weren't cheap, either. We paid around 200 USD but they didn't do practically anything.

IQ Air, on the other hand, is the single most effective air purifier on the market. No ionized air to worry about, no charged particles... just ultra Hepa technology, an outstanding air flow design and tons of activated charcoal to catch a bunch of gases & odors (even bathroom stench hehe).

Catches 99.97% of all particles. Bacteria. Viruses, Mold spores, dust, airborne particulates like soot, dust. Gases like the offgassing from new furniture, or traffic fumes, or remodeling fumes. IQ Air was the product of choice in SARS patient's rooms, and are still in use by 95% of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority.

These truly are awesome units. We were, all four of us, coughing all winter, and less than 24 hours after the filters (we bought 2)...NO coughing. Our son's eczema has even cleared up over these 3 weeks. AMAZING. CAN'T SING THEIR PRAISES ENOUGH. Thank you, Mikeal for introducing me to such a worthwhile product and impacting our health so positively!

the IQ Air range on sale by villa lifestyles is like RMB10,000 to 12,000. They'll come and install it for you.

the best known local brand is Yadu, which has a top-of-the-line price of about RMB 5,000-6,000

IQAir gets great reviews. I have a BlueAir purifier, but a friend has an IQAir and it helped his allergies a lot! He sent me this website with info on the IQAir because he was trying to convince me to buy one http://www.air-purifiers-humidifiers.com/iqair-air-purifiers.html
They are really expensive and the filters are costly which is why I went with BlueAir, but if you really need a good one, it's probably worth it.

Thanks so much for the TED Talk link Boco. I don't have any specific respiratory problems but often wake up with a stuffy nose and feeling lethargic so I think I'll get some of those plants and see if it has any effect!

But what about in a damp climate? Specifically, would I have to have someone turn it on a day before we arrive, or would it have to be run all the time to make a difference. We live part of the time in Guangzhou, and my kids seem to cough even more there.

Thanks for the concern and interest. We are back in Beijing now (a decision made in no small part by the dampness/health issue) and I only have to battle the dust and pollution. Read your info carefully and we are going to go with an IQ.
Thanks again!

After using it for months and feel no difference, we decided to get rid of our Yadu air purifier (that local brand air purifier will only waste your money) and bought IQ Air Health Pro 250. I would say we really did a good investment, in the 1st night after we used it my sore throat just gone as well as my husband `s sinusitis sympthom.

So, invest a bit more (it cost around rmb 14,500 but we get 10% discount) and love your body & lung.