Beijing's 13 million people are not the only ones seeking refuge indoors from the onset of winter - thousands of palm trees, from real estate developments and companies around the capital, are coming in from the cold to escape the city's subzero temperatures.
It is estimated about 100,000 trees are transplanted from warmer southern climes to the capital every year. Each resettled tree costs up to several thousand yuan and requires three to four times more money to maintain than local species, the Beijing Youth Daily has reported.
The trees are popular, but expensive, additions to city landscaping projects and are used to help give the impression of an upmarket development.
So owners are doing everything they can - from wrapping them up to burying heating coils in the soil - to ensure they survive the winter.
Cong Richen, of the Beijing Park and Gardening Institute, said extra work was essential to ensuring the survival of southern plants through the winter, but success was not guaranteed.
'Despite all the efforts, southern trees like palm trees cannot grow as vigorously as they do in areas south of the Yangtze River,' he said.