PHOTOS: This is what one year's worth of Beijing pollution looks like

Every day, 365 days a week, Beijing resident Zou Yi photographs the same building.

Since January 27, 2013, he's been uploading a single picture of Beijing's BTV Tower to his Sina Weibo microblog — every morning, without fail, from the exact same angle at the exact same time.

"Like a lot of people," he said in an interview with CEN, "I forget [PM2.5] readings as soon as I read them."

"A picture is worth a thousand words. If you see the same place, at the same time over a full year, the quality of the air becomes perceptible immediately."

The daily post, combining a photo with AQI readings, is Zou's way to do as the name of his blog suggests and make local pollution levels 'Understandable At a Glance.'

"I hope that after seeing the pictures people will start to pay attention to and protect our living environment. Data and theories are too abstract, but pictures can give a much more vivid picture."

Since he began his experiment, Zou Yi has attracted followers from around the country, and  has inspired others to do the same in their own cities. He says that he wants to see similar projects in every Chinese city, and hopes to roll out exhibitions of the photos nationwide.

Here's a compilation of Zou Yi's first year's worth of Beijing photos, showing smoggy mornings clearly outnumber those longed-for Blue Sky Days...