Heating gadgets keep people warm in deep-freeze

As soon as Su Xiaoqian got home, she cranked up the heater that radiated soothing warmth, plugged in the hand warmer, and wrapped herself in a soft blanket preheated by the electric mattress pad beneath.

A native in Wuxi, Jiangsu province - where the discomfort of winter cold is compounded by incessant rain and short days - Su said a whole set of heating gadgets like hers were no longer quirky novelties for kids.

"The senior colleagues in my company have ditched the hot water bottles for electric heating pads," she said. "And my parents, who are in their late 50s had asked me to buy stacks of them to avoid the chill."