How is the reality of China different than the China Charles has always envisioned in the novel, The Wangs Vs The World?

The Chinese smog Charles encounters upon his arrival is symbolic of every expectation Charles Wang has had, turned on its head. For his entire life, he has envisioned a China that is pastoral and almost magical in nature, but when he actually encounters the reality of China it is through the lung-choking smog brought on by industrialization.