In neighbouring Hebei province, rural residents say they cannot afford to heat their homes enough after switching from coal. Daytime temperatures in northern China often stay below freezing this winter, leaving many rural villagers with little choice but to endure the cold.
A 75-year-old woman named Wang from Guan county in Hebei, whose home is around 70km (43 miles) from Beijing's centre, said: “We dare not turn on the heating during the day.” Running the heating all day would cost between 60 and 90 yuan (US$8-13), an expense that could soar over a winter to more than 6,000 yuan (US$860). The sum amounts to nearly one-third of the province’s official 2024 disposable income for rural residents. Meanwhile, Wang receives a monthly pension of a little over 200 yuan (US$29) and is living on her savings.
To the north of Wang’s village in nearby Beijing, officials said last week that the metropolis of more than 21 million residents recorded just one heavy pollution day last year – its best performance since data was first collected over a decade ago. The capital’s improvement in air quality is inextricably linked to the changes that Wang and nearly 27 million farmers in Hebei have made to their energy use since they were required to abandon traditional coal-fired heating and cooking methods in 2017.
A 3:18 video shows villages in northern China struggling to stay warm as home heating costs add up. Keywords include Hebei, Guan county, natural gas, and reports from Guancha.cn, Global Times, Zhejiang University, Farmers' Daily, and Beijing on coal-fired heating.
