'Astronauts' hand out free masks in N China

A man dressed as an astronaut hands out free masks on a street in Taiyuan city of North China's Shanxi province – one of China's coal mine hubs - on Jan 31, 2013. The recent smog across China has affected more than 800 million people, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The Ministry of Environmental Protection said in a report issued on Wednesday that the recent smog has spread across the northern, central and eastern parts of the country. [Photo by Liu Jiang/Asianewsphoto]