Formation of new atmospheric aerosol particles is a global phenomenon that has been observed to take place in even heavily-polluted environments. In China, new particle production has been observed at very high pollution levels (condensation sink about 0.1s ) in several megacities. A holistic scientific understanding on the atmospheric phenomena associated with air quality as a whole, as well as on the connection between air quality and climate, is lacking at the moment.With a network of observation stations, we will be able to understand the interactions and feedbacks associated with the urban pollution mixture, and ultimately, are ready to make targeted strategies for the pollution control. This paper summaries the recent advances in studying secondary new aerosol formation in China and shows how increased process-level understanding will help us to understand air quality-climate-weather interactions and how the feedbacks and interactions affect the air quality in highly-polluted environments such as those frequently encountered in Chinese megacities. Formation of new atmospheric aerosol particles is a global phenomenon that has been observed to take place in even heavily-polluted environments. However, in all environments there appears to be a threshold value of the condensation sink (due to pre-existing aerosol particles) after which the formation rate of 3 nm particles is no longer detected. In China, new particle production has been observed at very high pollution levels (condensation sink about 0.1 s ) in several megacities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing as well as in Pearl River Delta (PRD). Here we summarize the recent findings obtained from these studies and discuss the various implications these findings will have on future research and policy.