Other than air pollution, China's environmental challenges are (1) Desertification, i.e. encroaching deserts such as the Gobi in the northwest. Vegetative barriers will try to combat this. (2) Deforestation. Before industrialization and slash and burn clearance became commonplace, nearly all of China was covered with trees. Now it's just 7%. Restoration to 20% by 2020 is the goal. In the countryside a good part of the prevalent haze may be attributed to fog, but pollution from coal use is here also, moreso in cities.