Focus on Arts and Ecology

Although the massive campaign to switch heating from coal to natural gas or electricity in northern China faced issues last year, local governments there were still given ambitious targets to meet in this year’s ongoing campaign. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment ordered a further 3.62 million households in Beijing, Tianjin, and the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, and Henan to switch their heating systems by the end of October. Caixin reported on the experiences of residents in Baoding, one of the target cities. In the rural district of Qingyuan, the government completed 53,876 replacements last year, but residents reported a variety of issues, including cost. Even with government subsidies, villagers said that heating their houses using electricity during the winter was twice as expensive as using coal. There have also been installation problems that have resulted in natural gas accidents, including explosions.