To assess the public’s understanding of the main sources of air pollution in Nanchang and factors influencing their
perceptions of Nanchang’s air quality status, a face–to–face survey data was collected at the provincial children's
hospital and four kindergarten classes in Nanchang. A total of 989 parents with children between the ages of 2 to
10 years old participated in the survey. Among which 69% of respondents believed that the current air quality was worse
than three years ago. This study reveals that parents who were under 40 years old of age with higher education level
and international travel experience, had higher level awareness of air pollution. Men tend to have lower knowledge of
air pollution as compared to women. The top three selected sources of air pollution were motor vehicles (78.5%), waste
burning (56.3%) and industrial facilities (53.7%). In addition, 79.8% of respondents believed that the government did not
spend enough on environmental protection and 96.8% suggested to increase government funding to improve air quality.
The majority of respondents (>90%) strongly urges the Nanchang government to prioritize environmental protection.
The findings from this study suggest the need for the government to improve the awareness of the main sources of air
pollution, especially to residents of rural areas with lower levels of education, to more effectively and efficiently control
air pollution in Nanchang.