In the midst of another cold January in Xi'an, I often like to vent my inherent Britishness and complain about the weather. (Of course, I reserve the right to complain about the weather regardless of the time of year.) Still haven't seen a snowflake this winter, but it's certainly cold enough for it. It actually hasn't rained in Xi'an for a long time, so I'm guessing that the lack of snow is simply due to a lack of available moisture. My apartment has no central heating. Well, actually, technically, it does. But 'they' won't turn it on. Apparently you can't turn on individual apartments, just the entire block, all or nothing. So unless everyone wants to turn it on, it stays off. So it's off. But hurrah for oil heaters, heat lamps, air heaters, electric blankets and wearing jumpers 3 at a time.
The INSIDE of my bedroom window, a few mornings ago
Go into a shop or a restaurant and it's the same. The vast majority of them have large aircon units that could warm the room in 10 minutes... but they just choose not to use them. On the occassions that the heaters are used, someone will always open the doors and windows. It seems that people would rather keep their outside coats and jackets on that take them off and just close the window. Something else I've noticed is that car drivers will have their windows open all year round, even on the coldest days of winter, when they could easily close them and be significantly warmer. Is this weird? I think so.
I heard that big part of this is rooted in Chinese traditional medicine, since many people believe that breathing 'recycled' air is a great way to contract some kind of airborne illness. This was 'confirmed' by the 'fact' (=unfounded rumour) that SARS was spread by breathing such recycled air. I think a similarstory circulated regarding bird flu. So freezing-cold fresh air = good, nice warm air-conditioned air = bad.
Recently, after a couple of clicks on the 'next blog' button in the top-of-the-screen toolbar, I found this blog post discussing thermal comfort in China. The part that interested me essentially says that Chinese people have a significantly wider range of temperatures they feel are acceptable, and I can absolutely confirm that it's true. Able to see your breath in the 'comfort' of your own home? No problem. So hot that sweat is dripping into your eyes, down your back, down your legs? Again, no problem.
Maybe I'm a victim of being born and raised in a, comparatively, extremely comfortable environment. Damn you Britain, damn you for making me soft. And damn you, January, and probably damn you February too. It's the Spring Festival... where is the sunshine?
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