Xiao Ning, a jobless man who could not afford a return ticket to his hometown in Henan, was watching TV at the Shenzhen Homeless Shelter Wednesday, wrapped in a red blanket.

Last week was the coldest in the city since 1996. The drastic temperature drop drove 291 homeless people to the shelter which accomodated about 200 people a day from Jan. 20 to Tuesday. There were still 198 there Wednesday, shelter manager Tang Rongsheng said.

Those seeking help include the homeless, beggars, and immigrant workers whose factories have poor accommodation.

The homeless shelter bought 500 quilts and 200 sets of clothes and raised the daily food consumption standard from 5 yuan to 8 yuan per person during festival week. It prepared 250 kilograms of dumplings and served the traditional food on the Chinese New Year's Eve.

More than half its staff had to work during the seven-day holiday to accommodate the largest number of people the shelter had ever admitted per day since its foundation in 1962.

The shelter is run by the Shenzhen Civil Affairs Bureau. Formerly a police holding center, it was transformed into a haven for the homeless after immigrant worker Sun Zhigang was beaten to death at Guangzhou Police Holding Center. This resulted in a national law abolishing holding centers.

The shelter has three separate wards for men, women and children and is equipped with canteens, shower rooms and clinics.

The latest weather forecast says temperatures will pick up gradually in the next three days, rising to 19 degrees Celsius Saturday. With rain expected Thursday, a shelter officer surnamed Lin said the number of people being housed was not expected to decline significantly in the next few days.

(Shenzhen Daily January 29, 2004)