Delivered from the blues with the help of rail

It was something that came out of the blue, but on the first day of the Lunar New Year I found myself looking over West Lake in Hangzhou, about 500 kilometers from my hometown, where I had intended to stay.

Two days earlier I had made the 1,000-kilometer trek from Beijing to Tongcheng in Anhui province and planned to spend the Spring Festival holiday there with my parents.

However, those fortunate enough to live in that part of the country are also unfortunate enough to have no central heating, which means that at this time of year it can be as unpleasantly cold inside as it is outside, no more than 7 C. For me this was too much to bear.