China's most high-profile philanthropist, Chen Guangbiao, made another splash over the weekend by announcing he will set up mobile boutiques in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou to sell canned fresh air starting September 17.
Chen said he specially chose to sell the air before the World Car-Free Day, which is September 22, to heighten public awareness on environmental protection and the importance of clean air.
The first batch of 100,000 cans of "Chen Guangbiao Good Man" air will be sold at 4 yuan (63 US cents) to 5 yuan each, according to China National Radio. He said he would donate 0.10 yuan to charity for every can sold.
Many people, however, wrote Internet posts questioning the ownership of air and Chen's right to sell it.
According to Chen, the CEO of a resource recycling company, each can of fresh air collected from provinces and regions with little pollution, such as Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet in southwest and northwest China.
He said he is confident about its marketing prospects, since people in big cities inhale air mixed with vehicle exhaust every day and the fresh canned air is good for people's health, he said over the weekend in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province at an event promoting environmental protection.
Chen used a hammer to smash an electric moped with a lead acid storage battery, to draw attention to lead pollution, and talked about his canned air, according to China News Service.
Chen said the air is put into pull-tag cans he invented, with a chip in each can. The air is not compressed - he said his staff need only swing their hands three times to push the air into the can. When there is enough air, the chip will make the cap close automatically, he said.
He said each can contains negative ions like the oxygen from cylinders for medical uses.
"Open the can and three deep breaths will allow you to have a good mood and a clear mind," he said.
Chen's idea of selling fresh air received some negative feedback online as many said he was just showing off, like when he sings while handing out sheep, pigs and tractors to poor farmers.
Many microblog users said Chen is crazy to sell air since air can't be sold because it doesn't belong to anyone. Smashing the moped also was criticized since it is an economical means of transportation used by workers, and many said Chen should target bigger polluters.
