No Heat South of the Yangtze

Lakes may freeze in Beijing, but at least the houses are heated.

Unfortunately, the title of this post is neither a joke nor a temporary situation. By government fiat, homes and offices In China that happen to be located south of the Yangtze River do not have any central heating in the winter. This despite the fact that the temperature in many places (including Changsha, where I live) hovers in the forties and occasionally dips below freezing. As you might expect, this makes life rather unpleasant for five months of the year, when the temperature of most indoor spaces is no different from that of the chilly outdoors. Our coats and jackets are well-used — often all at once.

But ingenious manufacturers have come up with more than a few devices to make the cold a little more bearable. Office cubicles are now crowded with electric foot warmers and heat lamps as workers try to keep feeling in their fingers and toes. My students come to class clutching electrified hot water bottles, which they rush to recharge during the 10-minute breaks. New this year are stuffed animals that double as muffs, into which you can put your hot water bottle to keep your hands warm while you’re on the move.

Winter travelers to China be warned — traveling in the south is not necessarily a way to escape the frigid temperatures of Beijing and points farther north. You may even be colder, since restaurants, stores and museums will probably not be heated. (Most hotels do provide heat, however.) Wherever you are, definitely buy a hot water bottle — it will only set you back 20 kuai (about 3 bucks) and will be your new best friend.

Related posts:

1. “The Heat Seeker”
2. A Spring Festival Ghost Town
3. First, there is military training

Tagged as: Changsha, Hunan, winter