A recent patent application, which has passed preliminary examination by the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and published at its website, has drawn wide attention and ridicule from netizens, according to thepaper.cn.

The applicant, Du Qingchen, said that if 15 million people hold his specialized fan and swing it toward the same direction at the same time, they will create wind pressure strong enough to drive light smog out of Beijing, thus preventing heavy smog from taking shape.

"It's low-cost, effective, and causes no secondary pollution," he said.

To ensure better results, he encourages governments or organizations to offer fans and send alert to all citizens when the smog strikes.

But after media reported his application, comments on the internet have mostly been of ridicule and doubts.

Thepaper.cn quoted Du saying on Tuesday that he has researched for around seven years on ways of getting rid of smog, and that those who mocked at him should read his invention seriously.

According to the information inquiry system of SIPO, Du sought patents for five other inventions in 2016, including "timed mosquito killer" and "nose plug for swimming". Along with the "smog-removing fan", all applications are still in the pending stage.

Qiu Weiyi contributed to this story.