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China Elevator Stories
How living in China’s South made me appreciate the North
Shenzhen’s hot and humid climate makes me appreciate the drier climate of North China.
30/10/2014
Ruth Silbermayr
Author
Are you a summer or a winter person? I’m a summer person. If I had to choose between summer and winter, I’d definitely choose summer.
In Vienna, summers are dry, and temperatures are moderate. Highs are around 30ºC (86ºF). Summers are perfect for sunbathing, swimming in the Danube, having barbecues with friends, and taking long evening walks.
Moving to China’s South
In June 2012, I packed a backpack and moved to China. After traveling through the southern provinces of Chongqing, Yunnan, Hunan, and Guangdong, I ended up in Shenzhen, where I found a job as an illustrator in an advertising agency. I thought it was the perfect place—green, sunny, with blue skies, but still a big city.
I met my then-coworker, now-husband, shortly after applying for my job. At the time, I could imagine living anywhere in China’s South. I couldn’t imagine living in the North; the thought of long, cold winters made me shudder.
Things changed when I had my baby son. When he was 100 days old, we moved to my husband’s hometown in Northeast China. Originally, we only planned to visit his parents, but we ended up living in his hometown for a few years.
Summers in Shenzhen
In Shenzhen, summers are hot and humid, with highs around 35ºC (95ºF). That might not sound too bad, but summers in Shenzhen are long. During the day, it’s usually too hot to be outdoors, and at night, it’s hard to sleep without air-conditioning. Mold grows in every corner, and mosquitoes bite both day and night.
Southern Winters
Winters in Shenzhen aren’t -30ºC (-22ºF) cold, but they’re cold in their own way. There’s no heating in Southern China. You can buy an electric heater, but it’s not the same. The cold is a wet kind of cold that seeps into your bones. It’s the kind of cold that makes you want to stay in bed all day (but then, your bedsheets are probably damp, so that’s not a good idea either).
Northeastern Winters
It’s still fall, and I haven’t experienced a real Northeastern winter yet. I’m sure winters here are cold. The good thing is, we have heating (starting from October 25th).
These last few days, temperatures in Siping have dropped to 0ºC (32ºF). In the evenings, it’s cold, but it’s not as cold as I thought it would be without heating. Our bedroom faces south, so during the day, it’s sunny and warm. On average, Siping gets about 140 more hours of sun per month in winter than Vienna.
I often sit on the windowsill and play with our son, who enjoys sunbathing just as much as I do. I go for walks in the sun. Here, 0ºC feels much warmer than 0ºC in windy, dark Vienna.
I always thought I was a summer person—until I went to China’s South, that is. Today, I’d say I’m a summer person in Austria, but I’m not a summer person in Shenzhen. One thing I’ve learned from my two years in Shenzhen is that summer is relative to the climate you live in.
Do you prefer hot or cold weather?