Power outages threaten Chinese New Year
BEIJING - Driven from her home by the bitter cold, Shi Ying was lucky to find a room at a hotel with a generator. But other residents of the central city of Chenzhou will ring in the Chinese New Year by candlelight.
A blackout stretched into its 12th day Tuesday in Chenzhou, a Hunan province city in a region that has been pummeled by blizzards and ice storms since Jan. 10.
"It doesn't feel like the New Year at all," Shi said. "It should be happy but instead it's scary."
The 28-year-old Shi and her family have been at the hotel since the crisis began. She said there is no TV or radio, and residents have no information about when utilities might be restored.
Chief Engineer Gu Junyuan of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission said electricity was restored to parts of Chenzhou on Monday evening, but the power failed again after just three hours.
"Since time is running out, our task is still an arduous one," Gu told reporters in Beijing. He said workers would be hard pressed to restore power by Thursday, the Chinese New Year.
It is the biggest holiday of the year for Chinese, like Christmas in the West. The weeklong holiday starts on New Year's Eve when families gather for a feast, watch the China Central Television New Year's gala broadcast, then set off rounds of firecrackers at midnight.
The scene in Chenzhou was anything but festive on Tuesday.
Cold, exhausted residents stood in long lines for water and gasoline. One woman did laundry on the sidewalk using a plastic basin and water from a fire hydrant, the sleeves of her bulky coat rolled up to the elbows. Others washed vegetables in front of shuttered storefronts.
"It is extremely cold and inconvenient. I haven't had a shower for about 10 days," said a Chenzhou travel agent who gave only her surname, Hong.
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