2:01 PM ET 04/16/98

Beijing mops up after a mud bath

         
            By Andrew Browne
            BEIJING (Reuters) - The skies rained mud over Beijing
Thursday.
            Clouds of fine brown dust swirling in from Inner Mongolia
combined with thundery weather gave the Chinese capital a mud
bath.
            Mud was caked on cars and bicycles and streaked on the
raincoats of residents brave enough to venture outside under
conditions that posed a greater-than-usual health hazard.
            Overnight thunderstorms left trees dripping with brown
slime.
            The mud-slickened streets and choking air graphically
demonstrated what Beijing authorities have only just publicly
admitted -- the city is now China's most polluted metropolis.