QUYANG, China: Although the temperature had climbed to 28°C, 68-year-old Dong Tongzhou stood in the village square wrapped in a worn coat, trying to absorb the warmth of the midday sun. Around him, neighbours sat quietly on folding chairs and at a card table as chickens wandered through the square.
Dong once heated his home by burning coal. But after the government banned coal for residential heating in northern China as part of its environmental campaign, villagers were encouraged to switch to natural gas — a cleaner but far more expensive alternative. To cut costs, Dong now often relies on sunlight instead of heating.
Even so, he spends about 1,000 yuan (roughly $143) each winter to heat his home in Quyang county, Hebei province. That amounts to more than a third of his monthly pension of 800 yuan. “If it gets any more expensive, I’ll stop using it altogether,” he said.
Across Hebei — the province that surrounds Beijing — many villagers are grappling with the unintended consequences of China’s aggressive push for cleaner air. Since 2017, the central government has banned coal heating in large parts of the region to reduce the severe winter smog that once blanketed the capital. Initially, local authorities eased the transition by subsidising natural gas. But this winter, those subsidies have been reduced or withdrawn.
As costs rise, reports have circulated on Chinese social media of families huddling under layers of blankets or secretly burning firewood for warmth, despite firewood also being banned. Many such posts, however, have been censored as air-quality improvements remain a sensitive political priority.
While rural communities struggle, Beijing officials are celebrating major gains. The city announced last week that it recorded just one day of heavy pollution in 2025 — a 98% reduction compared with 2013 — presenting the results as a victory in its “blue sky defence war.”
The burden of higher energy costs appears to fall disproportionately on rural residents. Media reports indicate that natural gas prices in Hebei are 10–20% higher per cubic metre than in Beijing or neighbouring Tianjin, meaning poorer villagers often pay more than urban households for basic heating.
In the long term, experts say the solution may lie in renewable energy rather than gas. China is already the world’s largest producer of solar and wind power, and as electricity becomes cheaper, technologies such as electric heat pumps could replace gas boilers and coal stoves, reducing both emissions and costs.
“The problem is not the green transition itself, but inconsistent policy,” said Deborah Seligsohn, a professor at Villanova University. “Subsidies were introduced and then removed.”
However, the upfront cost remains a major barrier. Installing a heat pump can cost more than $2,800, according to Wang, an employee at a heating equipment store, and there are currently no government subsidies to offset the expense. For many villagers, the price is simply out of reach. “Many won’t even turn on their gas,” Wang said.
