Record cold triggers heating debate

China's usually warm south is being gripped by extreme cold - without the protection of a heating system, unlike their counterparts in the north.

Temperatures below the Huai River - the central heating cutoff point - are now almost as low as those above.

Now, many southerners are asking for the the same heating as the north... which could strain the country's energy supply.

If previous winters are no big deal for southern Chinese, this winter will have come as a shock...

Persistent cold is freezing the entire country, making this winter the coldest, in 28 years...

And while families in the north can shelter at home with a household heating system, southern homes without air conditioners or heating substitutes, have become fridges.

Zhang Shuhao, a college student in the southern Chinese province of Jiangxi, is happy to return to his hometown, in China's northern Hebei Province for the winter vacation.

After studying in Jiangxi for more than a year, Zhang says he can't bear winter in the south.

SOUNDBITE (CHINESE) ZHANG SHUHAO, Student:

"The hardest part in a day is to get up and get off the bed, because the ladder is metal and it could be very cold. My hands get very cold when studying in the dorm. And I seldom eat at the canteen, because it's even colder than the dorm."

Zhang says he doesn't even dare do exercise, for fear he would catch a cold after sweating in temperatures outside, that are almost the same indoors...

The policy to only warm the north dates back to the 1950s, shortly after the founding of new China.

Based on the country's capabilities and weather conditions then, China built an indoor heating system for regions north of the Qinling-Huai River.

As a result, southerners have to brave winters alone - usually humid and mild, but now unbearable... With constant dampness, record-low temperatures and even snowstorms.

In these circumstances, heating becomes a selling point for new homes in the south.

This property salesman, Hu Chang, is promoting a newly-built housing compound featuring its floor-heating system.

Hu says housing structure is the biggest problem, if southern households want access to the same warmth as their northern counterparts.

SOUNDBITE (CHINESE) HU CHANG, Real estate salesman:

"Firstly, southern houses aren't designed with heating pipelines. Secondly, the home structure makes it hard to store heat. If they want heat, they will pay a high cost, for all the resources needed."

Others, like Yin XiaoJian, a researcher in the south, say it's time to take winters seriously - and consider policy changes:

SOUNDBITE (CHINESE) YIN XIAOJIAN, Jiangxi Social Academy Researcher:

"Usually the south is warmer than the north. So a heating service is not in dire need for the south. But as the winters are getting colder, many southern families have also been affected. So it's time to think about it."

But it's a catch-22: If the central government does heat the south, the electricity demand could test the country's already strained winter power supply.

China's National Energy Administration reported China's energy consumption jumped since the cold set in - up 7.6 percent in November, and 6.1 percent in October - marking two straight months of gains.

Power is also limited in winter because many rivers freeze over - and regions relying on hydropower, become prone to blackouts.

In the southern province of Hunan, the State Grid branch reported 113 power lines have already frozen so far this year.

Yin says heating shouldn't be mandatory to such regions in the south, but should allow for flexibility based on local conditions, to better use resources...

So every family in China, can shelter from the cold.