China... The Cold

I'm here in China for a wee spell... until April ish.
It's the city of Changsha, inland a bit and on the latitude about half way between Shanghai and Xiamen, so get your google maps out. The flight from Shanghai to Changsha took about two hours so if you can translate that into distance, you'll have it.

Now it's cold here, I was told. So I packed a light winter jacket that is rain proof, grabbed some gloves, scarf, turtle necks, sweaters, tights, cords and flannel jammies. I think I've done well... not so. I'm from Canada, eh? I know cold, and being too smart for my own good, I don't get that it's cold in China... inside, everywhere, always! Who knew? Seriously? People go to work in their coats and don't take them off all day.
The supermarket, hair salon, hospital... all staffed with people in their winter outside attire. The newborn babes in the hospital lie in their wee tupperware beds dressed for a day at the local mountian. I can't imagine the chill of having a diaper changed. I must say that of all places, not counting the spa, the hospital ward was the warmest and I can only imagine the room where the babies are bathed must be warm as well. But even though it's warmer in the ward rooms, the moms are all wearing their winter jackets.

The snow came four days ago and is showing no sign of wanting to leave. The first day there was about 10 cm, followed by 10 cm, followed by 10 cm. The good thing was the first two days the temperature stayed at about freezing, just enough to keep most of the wet heavy snow on the ground. Yesterday the temperature dropped so this snow is firmly attached to the frozen everthing; roads, stairs, trees, fences... I have yet to see a plow. I think they may not have plows here but yesterday I saw a guy with a shovel, shoveling out a path through the hospital parking lot! Better than that were the three guys shoveling the road! In all fairness only two had shovels, one had rigged up a board with a rope attached and as one pushed, another pulled the rope along cause the snow was so heavy.

The weight of the snow on the tree branches, especially those trees with leaves, has caused the branches to break and crash to the ground everywhere. Nonie, you remember that storm in Banff in september? Same thing.The roads are all blocked with branches and it's very dangerous on the sidewalks too. This city is multi level so along the side streets there are stone steps (everything is made of stone here) covered with snow and ice... impassable. I have worries of losing my footing and sliding down those stairs with nothing to stop me but the non-stop traffic on the busy street. I'm sure the underside of a car would stop me dead, as it were.

next installment... my apartment
(It's the giant pink one in the pictures. And the last photo is the hospital.)