From Central Heating to Hotpot;
China’s Luxurious Warmth! By Josefa Meng
The Qinhuai Line is the geographical dividing line between north and south China. On both sides of this border, there are obvious differences in natural conditions, geographical features, agricultural production and people’s living customs.
And their heating systems.
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ependent on geographical location, when the cold season hits, people in the north bask in their warmth and wear short-sleeves to walk around at home, while people in the south wrap themselves in downcotton jackets and tremble on their sofa corner.
The root of the problem lies in the heating system. In the course of historical development, with the Qinhuai Line (秦岭淮河线; Qinling Mountains-Huaihe River Line) as the boundary, it was decreed that there be no central heating systems installed in the south.
The result is that we in the Yangtze River Basin find it hardest to fall asleep at night, and regularly awake with our breath as the first thing we see. For some, this “ice cave” is their only companion through life’s winter. Compared to the dry cold of North China, our cold is mainly caused by humidity and wind. With winter being comparatively long and rain all year round, humidity has a huge impact on the human body’s feelings of cold. According to meteorology, for every 10 percemt increase in humidity, the temperature felt by the human body decreases by 1 degree Celsius. 11
