Taitou, Gaocun

The air quality as measured by the air quality index (AQI) in nearby Langfang varies from excellent to severely polluted.^[5] In summer months, the AQI is usually around 100, while in winter months, AQI of 300+ is common. In May 2017, the AQI of Langfang and other cities in the Jingjinji area exceeded an extremely hazardous 1000 points.

The lack of an extremely polluted winter in 2017/18 is owed to policies from the central Chinese government that placed severe restrictions on heavily-polluting manufacturing plants and coal furnaces used for heating.^[6]

Shortly after construction of the Taitou residential compound was completed, and after residents had moved in, major renovation works were carried out on the exterior walls of all 21 buildings at Taitou.

The process included:

1. Chipping away the existing stone cladding
2. Removing the old Rockwool insulation material from the external walls
3. Installing new, upgraded Rockwool insulation material to the external walls
4. Painting the exterior walls white
5. Painting the exterior walls black
6. Covering every face of every building with masking tape in a brickwork pattern
7. Painting the buildings beige then peeling off the masking tape to reveal a brickwork pattern

The exterior wall renovation process took nearly 12 months to complete, during which, the compound was littered with dust, rubble and debris. After the exterior wall insulation was finished, workers planted hundreds of trees and bushes around the residential compound.

Haileybury International School used some of the Taitou debris as material for its elective handicraft activity.