Living in China's coal heartland (BBC)

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By James Reynolds
BBC News, Shanxi

At a temperature of -10C (14F), in the grey-blue dawn, two schoolchildren have a thankless job to complete.

They are meant to sweep away the soot, dirt and grime from the school gate.

But this village is surrounded by coal mines and power stations, so it is impossible to get anything clean.
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The children all have dirty hands and faces. In this village, once you get grubby, you stay grubby. Winter makes things worse.

"When it comes to this time of year, one quarter of students get respiratory diseases," says the head teacher, Zhao Xiangjing.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6271773.stm