The impact of air pollution on behavior changes and outdoor recreation in Chinese cities

•Park visits decrease with increased air pollution in 101 cities of China.•But over a third of respondents insisted to visit parks at the highest pollution.•People with less education are less likely to cancel park visit due to high air pollution.•Frequent park visitors are less likely to cancel park visit due to high air pollution.•People living with good air quality are found to be less responsive to air pollution.