The heat is on after early cold in Mohe

Due to the onset of cooler weather in Mohe, Heilongjiang province, the nation's northernmost city began supplying heat to its residents on Tuesday, 15 days ahead of schedule.

In the heating plant at Huapeng Heating Co in the city, all heating units have started running, and workers are carefully monitoring data from the boilers.

"I already felt the warmth when I touched the radiator," said local resident Li Yanxia. "The thermometer in my room reached 24 C, while the lowest temperature was around 0 C outside. I can wear a T-shirt indoors, and I don't have to worry about my family members catching a cold."

For some people visiting Mohe from China's southern regions, where residents constantly rely on air conditioning to counter sweltering temperatures, it's interesting to see Mohe residents actually enjoying the heat.

"My hometown is still experiencing scorching heat — over 30 C," said Zou Zhongkun, a tourist from Quanzhou, Fujian province. "During my trip in Mohe, I have enjoyed the beautiful autumn scenery, as well as the comfortable room temperatures that we always admire in the winter."

In Mohe, multiple measures were taken to prepare for the early chill.

"In preparation for the cooler weather brought by autumn and to ensure that residents have a warm living environment, as early as August, we conducted maintenance on the pipeline network, including at a heating plant, 12 heat exchange stations and over 200 kilometers of heating pipes," said Chu Yue, Party secretary of Huapeng.

"Meanwhile, we began reserving coal, and so far we have reserved over 70,000 metric tons of it. Now that heating has begun, the average daily consumption of coal is about 200 tons, but it can be as high as about 1,500 tons a day during the coldest period of the winter," he said.

"To respond to changes in weather and heating emergencies in a timely manner, the company has also set up a work plan to produce more heat and make emergency repairs to help workers detect and fix hidden problems as soon as possible," he added.

Located in the northernmost forest area of the Greater Hinggan Mountains, Mohe's winters are long and bitterly cold. Its annual average temperature during the season is 3.8 C, and the lowest on record in the city was — 53 C. For this reason, its heating period is among the longest in China.

The heat will stay on through late May and is pegged at 38.5 yuan ($5.41) for each square meter of property.

"Next, we will gradually increase the heat intensity according to temperature changes to ensure that residents have a warm winter," said Chu.