Chinese villagers struggle to afford heating as government gas subsidies shrink

Farmer He Wenxiang sits on a bed wearing several layers of clothing including a black fur-collared jacket and a cap. Despite outside temperatures of minus 1 degree Celsius (30°F), the 72-year-old runs his gas boiler only occasionally to warm up a radiator in his bedroom. He is among several people in his village, outside the city of Baoding in China’s northern Hebei province, who are choosing to barely heat their homes because of rising natural gas prices. Costs have risen after cash-strapped local governments scaled back subsidies designed to drive a transition to clean energy.