Abstract. A Multi Axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) instrument was deployed in May and June 2016 at a monitoring station (37.18° N, 114.36° E) in the suburban area of Xingtai (one of the most polluted cities in China) during the Atmosphere-Aerosol-Boundary Layer-Cloud (A²BC) and Air chemistry Research In Asia (ARIAs) joint experiments to derive tropospheric vertical profiles of NO₂, SO₂, HONO, HCHO, CHOCHO and aerosols. Aerosol optical depths derived from MAX-DOAS were found to be consistent with collocated sun-photometer measurements. Also the derived near-surface aerosol extinction and HCHO mixing ratio agree well with coincident visibility meter and in situ HCHO measurements, with mean HCHO near-surface mixing ratios of ~ 3.5 ppb. Underestimates of MAX-DOAS results compared to in situ measurements of NO₂ (~ 60 %), SO₂ (~ 20 %) are found expectedly due to vertical and horizontal inhomogeneity of trace gases. Vertical profiles of aerosols and NO₂, SO₂ are reasonably consistent with those measured by a collocated Raman Lidar and aircraft spirals over the station. The deviations can be attributed to differences in sensitivity as a function of altitude and substantial horizontal gradients of pollutants. Aerosols, HCHO, and CHOCHO profiles typically extended to higher altitudes (with 75 % integrated column located below ~ 1.4 km) than did NO₂, SO₂, and HONO (with 75 % integrated column below ~ 0.5 km) under polluted condition. Lifted layers were systematically observed for all species, (except HONO), indicating accumulation, secondary formation, or long-range transport of the pollutants at higher altitudes. Maximum values routinely occurred in the morning for NO₂, SO₂, and HONO, but around noon for aerosols, HCHO, and CHOCHO, mainly dominated by photochemistry, characteristic upslope/downslope circulation and PBL dynamics. Significant day-to-day variations are found for all species due to the effect of regional transport and changes in synoptic pattern analysed with HYSPLIT trajectories. Low pollution was often observed for air masses from the north-west (behind cold fronts), and high pollution from the southern areas such as industrialized Wuan. The contribution of regional transport for the pollutants measured at the site during the observation period was estimated to be about 20 % to 30 % for trace gases, and about 50 % for aerosols. In addition, agricultural burning events impacted the day-to-day variations of HCHO, CHOCHO and aerosols.