John Ruwitch is a correspondent for Reuters in south China. He has been studying or reporting on greater China since 1992, and has lived in Beijing, Taipei and Hong Kong, where he is currently based. In the following story he describes three days spent in Chenzhou, a city without power for nearly two weeks. It marked his first trip to Hunan, which is known for its piquant cuisine and as the birthplace of Mao Zedong. He hopes to visit again when the lights are back on.
CHENZHOU, China (Reuters) - I stepped nervously from the over-crowded sleeper onto the frigid platform with no hotel, no contacts and no plan other than to find out what it was like to be in a city of 4 million in the midst of a 12-day blackout.
Freezing rain and snow in late January coated much of south-central China with a thick layer of ice, contorting tree branches and crumpling some 1,000 high-tension power pylons.
The slush-lined streets were alive with activity, and I learned over the next few days that stoic resignation bolstered by a dash of hope can go a long way under such conditions.
"This is an ice disaster," said Liu Weibin, jazz in the background. "There's nothing anybody could have done about it."
Hours earlier, Premier Wen Jiabao had visited the city on a well-publicized tour of weather-hit areas -- a sign of how seriously the stability-obsessed ruling Communist Party takes any crisis with the potential to cause unrest.
People with money and connections crowded the few hotels with generators, like the four-star place where I found a room. But even in these oases of light, life wasn't normal.
The elevator was off and I walked up 16 flights to my room. The heater was off, too, so I ordered another quilt. There were no towels because they were not doing laundry to conserve energy, but that didn't matter because there was no hot water.
By day, in a crowded outdoor market, people grumbled about price hikes for everything from peppercorns to dog meat.
I spent an afternoon with a prominent Chenzhou resident looking for fuel. Two stations we passed had dozens of cars queuing. A third was closed. Through connections, he finally secured a 25 kg (25 litters or 6.6 gallons) jug full. "I had to fight for it!" said the middle-aged man.
As I shared tea, rice cakes and sips of white lightning with a family in an old section of town where their ancestors put down roots some 300 years ago, the matriarch eagerly read old newspapers I'd brought, her first news in days.
One, a maker of beancurd, cursed the heavens for the foul weather and aimed a barrage of abuse at the Communist Party.
When the candle on the table burned out, I turned on my headlamp and we continued talking for a while. I wished them a Happy New Year and left them talking in the dark.
(To read more Reuters Witness stories click here: http://www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/reutersWitnesses)
