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The line that decides who gets heating
China draws an invisible line across itself, along the Qinling mountains and the Huai river. North of it, cities get state-supplied central heating, switched on and off by date each winter. South of it they historically get none — so Shanghai and Nanjing can be colder indoors in January than Beijing, where the radiators are running. The rule descends from a 1950s decision about where scarce fuel should go. It is why southern homes heat with air conditioners, and why 昆明, mild the year round, is nicknamed the spring city.