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Q: Anything special I should know about spending winter in China?
My Chinese friend recommended that I buy a face mask for the air pollution (he said it's because the city-wide heating is coal powered).
Is there anything else I should know/buy/prepare for going into the winter months?
Warm slippers for the cold, marble floors and a heater with a timer to start up before you get out of bed in the morning.
If you live south of the Yangtze River, there is no internal heat. So, in Guilin the temperature during the winter time can be 2C outside, and 4C inside, so you are cold all the time (except for bed and shower). Beijing, the temperatures are much colder, BUT most places I have been to have internal heating.
A mask is probably a good idea.
But beyond that, are you going to be in one of the really cold areas? And are you used to cold?
If not, the big piece of advice is layers, layers, layers. I'm Aussie and was used to the idea that dressing for the cold meant putting a coat on, that's it. But no, when it gets below about minus 15, then you need to be wearing 3-4 warm layers of clothing including a down-filled coat and to have every part of your body but your face covered.
Quality of clothing matters hugely. I spent the first six weeks of winter wearing cheaper woolen globes and had freezing hands. Freezing extremities equal freezing person, it's not fun. When I bit the bullet and bought lined leather gloves, the world became a better place.
Heating - in colder areas, make sure that your apartment has full central heating. A lot of cities have government-supplied central heating to all buildings (payment is built into the rental rates, usually), which makes life immeasurably easier when it's freezing outside. Also make sure the apartment is properly insulated. Having a nice warm apartment to come home to makes minus 25 degree days much more bearable.
just wonder what a face mask has to do with coal generated steam? How can dust from coal at steam generated plant get to your apartment, unless carried by air ?
Check your windows, make sure they close tight, no air leaks. Use duct tape as required to achieve this. And do get use to using a few layers of clothes to keep warmth, otherwise you will be really cold. And I mean like winter wool underwear (or whatever you can get), long sleeve shirts, sweater, jacket and overcoat, scarf and gloves, a hat or a cap, and sometimes I even use two trousers over my long johns. Forget looking ridiculous, everyone else will wear the same.
I do have electrical heaters in my bedroom and bathroom, and I use them while there. And I do live in an above zero area of China.
I'm Canadian and went to Guilin last winter, they have palm trees right, it's not that cold, I watched the weather before I left, hell I didn't need a winter coat so I left it at home. I was colder in southern China than in Canada. My place had a heater, didn't do that much and the walls and floor were freezing. It didn't help that every time my GF came over the first thing she did was open the balcony door. Chinese need fresh air not heat. This is one of pet peaves with Chinese irrational thinking. My hands don't get cold, but if yours do bring gloves, a good coat, warm boots. Most stores have open store fronts and no heat. Some of the big department stores don't have heat. I was freezing in my apartment and when I was out. I think they lie about the temperature,cause it was -5 and +5 average, but it sure felt colder.
GuilinRaf:
Lol!
And, when my Guilin friends found out I was moving to Beijing, they said that it was too cold!!!!
tauney:
I'm from Canada too and spent last winter in Beihai, Guangxi. Lots of palm trees, ocean, flowers year-round. The Wikipedia entry on the place said the avergae winter temp was 20C, so I thought I'd be fine with just a fall jacket.
I froze my poor butt off. I didn't bring a winter coat (or even sweaters, for that matter) and my apartment is a big open studio apartment with the worst north-facing windows. The cold wind would come in off the mainland, and horrible humid air came in off the ocean. It was like living in melted icecream all winter--thick, white fog, and freezing cold.
TedDBayer:
Glad you said something tauney. I was hoping to go back to china in Sept, don't know when now, but thought I'd check out maybe Beihai, so I'll scratch that, maybe Thailand, but thinking of Dominican. I have friends there and I can take my dog and cats.
i lived in guilin yangshuo for a long time and one winter i decided to stay there, it was the worst decision i ever made, you cant wash your clothes unless you use the laundry service cos they have a dryer, your clothes wont dry and will turn modly in in the winter, now im in guang zhou, im not a big fan of the city and its not as relaxed but still good and no need to go outside with a large coat lol
I cannot comment on the really cold (read north) parts of China as China is so huge, but in the south (Nanning to be exact) it is useful to keep one thing in particular, in mind.
In Nanning the temperature rarely falls much below 5C (occasionally as low as 3C), but, and this is the important bit, almost NOWHERE has heating, so you are going to be experiencing that temperature day and night for 3 or 4 months! Eventually it feels BITTERLY cold.
When we bought our own apartment I insisted that our Air Con also heats so last winter and this one coming at least I'll have a warm home!
