Here at Beijing's Tiananmen Square, guards are busy keeping up with the return of thick smog.<br/> <br />Haze mixed with a sandstorm on Thursday (February 28) to blanket the capital in toxic levels of air.<br/> <br />A reading of hazardous particulate matter - or PM 2.5 - showed levels well beyond recommended daily intake.<br/> <br />Air quality fell to the worst on record in January.<br/> <br />It's become a major challenge for new leader Xi Jinping, who'll become president at the National People's Congress (NPC) next week.<br/> <br />Residents here call for action.<br/> <br />SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) 40-YEAR-OLD BEIJING RESIDENT HU JING, SAYING:<br/> <br />"Smog had already been forecast but now there's a sandstorm mixed with it! So I can't open my eyes or mouth. Just look at me! I'm heavily dressed from head to toe! If this weather continues in Beijing it will certainly damage everyone's health. So I hope leaders at the NPC attach importance to this problem."<br/> <br />State TV warned drivers to take care as visibility dropped to around 500 metres (1,640 feet).<br/> <br />Cities in surrounding provinces also suffered poor air.
