As the mercury drops, thoughts turn to capital's poor residents

As the temperature plummeted on Wednesday to well below freezing, helping hands were already reaching out to help the city's homeless.

The head of Fengtai Salvation Station, surnamed Kang, told METRO that the station had already taken in 42 homeless people by Wednesday afternoon.

"Some were sent here by the city administrators and some came by themselves," Kang said.

A strong stream of cold air hit the capital on Monday, and on Wednesday morning the temperature had dropped to -11 C making it not only the the coldest day this winter, but also the coldest Dec 15 of the past decade.

Starting on Monday, Beijing Salvation Management Center called on staff at all stations, the police, as well as staff from the health department to patrol both day and night in areas where homeless people gather, such as bus stations, underpasses and under bridges.

For those who turn up at the salvation station, Kang said they provide food, lodging, and train tickets home.

Xu Lianqiang, 79, from Yunnan province, said he became homeless after his purse was stolen and he came to the station after he saw a notice for it at Beijing West Railway Station. He will be sent home to Yunnan on Thursday, Kang said.

However, Kang said the biggest difficulty the station has in helping homeless people is that many of them would rather beg on the street than come to the stations. "They said they have money and don't want to go home."

Staff from the station take cotton-padded clothes, quilts and instant noodles to those who don't want to come to the station.

As the district has the most transport hubs between rural and urban areas in the capital, Fengtai station is the biggest among the city's 16 salvation stations, and can accommodate 150 people. It has helped 20,200 homeless people since it was established in 2003.

According to Huang Qingwei, a staff member from an international NGO that aims to reduce poverty, few NGOs have targeted these groups of people. The city's homeless people and beggars are mainly helped by the government.

"Most NGOs pay more attention to people in rural areas and migrant workers in the city, who are larger in number and are usually more fragile and desperate," said Huang.

He said that as well as food and shelter, aid should involve education to encourage people to help themselves.

Those stepping up to help the poor should get some respite later this week.

Wei Jianming, a chief reporter at the Beijing Meteorological Station, said temperatures are expected to rise above freezing on Thursday. "The temperature will continue to rise in the next three to five days, reaching a high of around 6 C and a low of -4 C," said Wei, adding that there will be no snow in the next seven days.

Thirty-one repair teams from the Beijing heating office are on 24-hour standby in case of emergencies. Heating officials said they had started to prepare for the cold snap several days ago, and had increased the flow temperature.

Huang Yuli contributed to this story.