Beijing's odourless "Nature"

It's my 8th (and last) spring in China and Beijing and for the span of those many years what struck me the most is the COMPLETE absence of natural scent (in any season), even in natural surroundings such as parks.
The trees are blooming, the grass is growing, etc., but no smell.
Granted, this is one of the dirtiest, dustiest and lifeless cities I have seen or imagined. But even outside of the city, in the parks and hills, (with very few exceptions) I feel completely detached from the natural scenery.
(Hm, maybe because it is almost 100% actually man-made?! Or because it was trampled by hundreds of thousands during a few millennia and in result there is actually nothing natural left?!)

But this spring, maybe in honor of me leaving, (and in order to prove me wrong in my "theory" about lack of life and spirit in Nature in China), these days on campus in the university (the park part is one of the reasons I have stayed relatively sane until now) especially in the evenings there is an impossibly wonderful and gentle smell of blooming trees in the air. And not just if you get close to a tree and stick your nose closely to the bloom, no actually in the air!
Now, that is an unexpected treat!
Also, in the mornings there is a LOT of bird singing and chirping in the air.
(Hm, we did have already a couple of dust storms...And for several days a freakish amount of pollen in the air. )

Unfortunately the temperatures since yesterday have risen to the climate-change induced anomalous heights of 30 degrees Celsius and it's only the beginning of May, and the freshness in the air is somewhat stiffened.

Did someone else actually notice that there is this wonderful scent of bloom in the air these few days?!
Or as with bad smells it went by unnoticed?

I have observed an apparent lack of odour-distinction in most Chinese people. Good for them of course, since there is a lot of stink around. Actually it is not a lack of it, but rather they have the amazing, but very useful, capacity, to switch off their olfactory function. In the same way as some people who can filter-out noise and are just not bothered by it.
However, me with my foreigner's "big nose" and my hyper-sensitivity, never learned how not to notice the foul stench in China. Or to learn to ignore the spitting and the filth, or the smell of unwashed bodies and/or unwashed clothes.

There is NO excuse to NOT be clean! Or at least try to.


Hm. This post was supposed to be about something positive, but not surprisingly, turned into a "China bashing" rambling...
I DO need to get away.