Three headlines grabbed my attention this morning:
Beijing: CCTV building soon repaired. Actually, I don’t care too much about this, but that burnt-out shell has been sitting there for so long… If, as the article says the architect claims, the structure is basically sound and it is salvageable, then cool, salvage it.
And in not-so-good news: 5.0 earthquake in Yunnan, 28 injured, Civil Affairs Bureau launches level 4 response. The quake hit Bingchuan, up near Dali, at 5:07am yesterday. No reports of deaths, at least not in that article, which is fortunate- and hopefully it stays fortunate- but there are plenty of damaged houses. Relief supplies are being rushed in.
Better news: 60% of central heating boilers already lit, won’t be stopped if weather warms up. To be honest, I haven’t even read that one yet. As soon as I read the headline I sprinted madly round the apartment bleeding the radiators. There was much hissing of slightly pressurised air coming out, followed by water. Cold water, but hey, that means there’s water in the pipes, and hopefully the cold water will soon be followed by hot. I did notice smoke coming from a heating plant not far north of here yesterday. I can’t see any other chimneys from my apartment, but I will be looking out for them and hope to see plumes of smoke. And I hope to soon feel heat coming out my radiators.
Good news about the heat. It’s cold enough here in Shanghai. I can imagine it’s much worse in your parts.
*Potentially* good news about the heat- I bled the radiators out this morning and have checked twice since then. The radiators are full of water, but the water is still cold. Evidently our local central heating plant hasn’t yet lit the fire.
Yeah, what stopped me from freezing that winter in Changsha was the fact I’d spent 4 1/2 years in Dunedin immediately prior to moving to China, and so was well used to cold, damp winters in unheated, uninsulated houses. And I was 10 years younger than I am now. I don’t envy you your Shanghai winter.
I’ve often thought I’d be happier in Harbin than Shanghai for the winter just so I’d be guaranteed well-sealed windows and working heaters in all the buildings. A least in the northern US where I’m originally from that’s the case.
Fortunately I’ve amassed quite the collection of thermal underwear and fingerless gloves (because one still must type) and with any luck the winter will pass without any unnecessary numbing of the extremities.
My impression (because I come from an unheated, uninsulated country) is the window-sealing and insulation up here isn’t quite as good as what you’re used to back in the northern US, but yes, the heating does make a hell of a difference.