Beijing is promising indoor temperatures of 16 C or above until the heating is switched off on March 15.

Guo Weiqi, an official with the Beijing municipal government, said those who heat their rooms excessively above 20 C will have their heating rationed.

The municipal government has ordered that shopping malls and office buildings have temperatures no higher than 18 C. Hotel rooms should be kept at 22 C or below.

Meanwhile, in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei Province, residents received heat supply yesterday as well as a promise of room temperatures not less than 16 C.

In Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi Province, the government has allocated more than 37 million yuan (US$4.6 million) to subsidize about 30,000 low-income families, covering 85 percent of their heat bills.

Li Dawei, general manager of the Beijing District Heating Group, a major heat provider in Beijing, said energy shortages this year would be more serious than in previous winters.

According to Li, all major heating plants in Beijing will work to capacity this winter.

In Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, the heating season began on October 20. Harbin authorities promised a minimum room temperature of 18 C between 6 am and 21 pm, and 16 C in the rest of time.

As well as helping the city's human residents get through the winter, heating is also a comfort to some of Beijing's animals.

At Beijing Zoo, heating for the animals began last month. Experts at the zoo said some tropical animals need heating nine months a year.

(China Daily November 16, 2005)