It's official, Winter is here, temparatures are dropping below 0, some mild snow is expected to fall (have yet to witness), and everyone is having difficulty showing up for 8am class.
Shanghai's type of cold is Wet/Damp, Piercing Wind type of cold due to its proximity to the sea, things get alot wetter or here in comparison to more in-land cities.
I hate the cold, it is a very tough adversary in comparison to heat.
You can easily beat heat by taking a shower, putting on less/no clothes, turning up the air-conditioner or fan. Solutions to beat heat is cheap, easily accessible, convenient.
COLD on the other hand: requires: specialized winter underwear such as Long Johns/Thighs underwear, heating elements, a good PU jacket/leather jacket or trench, gloves and beanies are a MUST. Brr even two layers of socks are starting to fail. The Only PLUS side to cold is that people tend to start dressing fashionably with scarves, coats and headwear.
Tips to stay warm:
In all honesty, i sometimes think it feels warmer outside than inside (assuming there is no heating) because, 1) When you walk, your core temparature rises from physical exertion 2) you'll often be wearing more clothing which you'll often take off when you get home for convenience and mobility 3) Being at home is like being inside a fridge, cold is retained inside your home.
To stay warm outside, its important you have a big coat, a smaller coat eg. a sweater/sports jacket/cotton jackets, whatever you normally wear eg. T shirt, collared shirt,vest and then thermals.
We SE Asians tend to neglect the "coat within the coat" layer since we usually have to deal with heat (and rainrainrainrain during monsoon periods) and not cold.
The Outer Coat is the most important piece of clothing as this coat is responsible for fending off piercing winds, and the occassional shower. The most ideal material would be leather, but since everyone isn't that rich, there always is Plastic otherwise known as PVC or PU at the markets. PVC/PU is often used as an alternative to leather as it gives off the finish of a leather, is cheap and easily mass produced and it is waterproof.
Tip** I read this somewhere but the way to distinguish leather from PVC is by scratching it. The mark on leather will fade away like how it would on your skin but on PU, it'll stay there.
There is the fire thing: light a fire and place it near the leather, leather will not burn but PVC will be ruined as the fire will melt alway its sheen and coat which will leave a mark.
PVC will often look synthetic and shiny and flimsier due to their plastic nature. Though some well done PVCs will look like its leather.
PVC/PU is alot cheaper, when a price tag is too low and the seller is telling you its leather, be suspicious as it cannot possibly be leather isn't very cheap.
A nice/relatively warm leather looking PVC will cost about 300-600yuan
Essential items:
Gloves!! Get 2: one that is thin enough for manual dexterity for keys, taking stuff out wallets, grabbing small items and a big fat one for cycling as the thinner one is sometimes not enough to withstand the chilling winds.
You will also be needing the thin one for indoor use like what I am doing right now. You cannot go gloveless in your home as the chill will get to your fingers (wear socks too and get some slippers). I can't type as i normally can but thats just a small trade to keep my hands warm.
Beanie/Ear Protector
Ears are one of the more vulnerable pieces of your face, keep it warm with a beanie or ear protector which can be found for less than 10yuan at walmart!!
Get a kettle and get some water boiling! Hot drinks are a good way to keep warm as well and to keep hunger at bay when trying to maintain a diet.
Long Johns/Thermal underwear.
These things are very handy as it helps form another layer of "skin" as its tight fit nature doesn't allow for chills to sneak into your body so easily and it contains heat in the process. For Thermal underwear, I recommened HeatTech made by UNIQLO: the material is stretchy so even if its tight, it will not limit your movement too much, it dries really quickly after washing, it can serve as pajamas and its pretty cheap online!! At stores you will normally find that it costs 99yuan but online, you can get it for 25yuan!! Though the cheaper price comes at a cost as often there will be limited selections and colors to choose from.
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