A day after canceling her Beijing show, Grammy award-winning singer Patti Austin returned to the stage on Saturday to sing at the Shanghai jazz festival, according to the concert organizer.

Disappointed jazz fans blamed the capital city's heavily-polluted air on Friday for provoking an asthma attack in the 63-year-old singer, although the organizer did not reveal the cause.

The American R&B, pop and jazz singer had come to China for two "Master Hall" concerts - one in Beijing on Friday and the other in Shanghai on Saturday as part of this year's JZ festival, the biggest jazz festival in China.

The Shanghai concert was held as planned on Saturday after Austin recovered from the attack and her voice returned to a stable condition, according to a statement on the festival's official Sina Weibo.

Concertgoer and Sina Weibo user yuediguishu said she truly felt for the singer who insisted on performing despite her damaged voice.

Austin suffered with a persistent cough after arriving at Beijing on Friday morning and was sent to the emergency department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital.

She was later found to have suffered a serious asthma attack in combination with a respiratory infection, the organizer said in a statement.

Austin's breathing condition did not physically enable her to perform at the Beijing show, according to the organizer, who apologized for any inconvenience and was planning to reschedule her performance to a later date. She felt "extremely disappointed" about it, the statement said.

It was the first time Austin has canceled a performance for health problems, forbeschina.com reported on its official Sina Weibo Saturday.

"We should apologize to the famous singer and advise her to wear masks next time she comes to Beijing," the Beijing-based Legal Mirror tweeted on Sina Weibo.

PM2.5 (particulate matter of 2.5 microns or less) particles per cubic meter climbed to over 200 in 33 of 35 monitoring stations on Friday, according to Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau data.

International golfers including Germany's Sandra Gal wore masks at the Reignwood LPGA Classic in Beijing earlier this month, Cable News Network (CNN) reported. 

The China Meteorological Administration on Wednesday set up a forecast and warning center for haze, smog and other related environmental meteorology of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and other North China areas.

Beijing also issued a heavy pollution emergency response plan Wednesday with four degrees of air alert warnings.

The plan requires alternative driving days for cars with even or odd license plates when the PM 2.5 index rises above 300 for three consecutive days.

Global Times