The winter of 2009 was extraordinarily chilly in Jilin, with cold spells and snowstorms raging in the Northeast China province.

But thanks to the Warm Houses Project carried out by the government, the people of Jilin have a warmer winter to look forward to.

As part of the project, municipal workers replaced the old plastic covered steel windows with new materials that cost only 130 yuan ($20.6) per square meter.

A resident in Changchun, the provincial capital, surnamed Zhao, aged over 60, never misses a chance to show off her affordable, high-tech windows to friends and relations whenever they drop by.

"I paid only 2,000 yuan for 15 sq m of windows in my home," Zhao proclaimed, noting that she had heard that the same materials can cost at least 260 yuan per sq m on the open market. "It's so cheap because the government subsidizes our purchases."

The project is part of the provincial government's overall plan to improve the quality of life in the region.

Statistics shows that the average income of Jilin residents in urban areas and the countryside has been increasing faster than the province's GDP growth rate.

Modernized residential communities are being built where shantytowns once stood, while old houses are being repaired to be warmer and more comfortable. Many farmers are now rich enough to buy their own cars.

In the last two years, the total heating capacity in the province increased by more than 55 million sq m after authorities reconstructed 818 kilometers of pipelines and 811 boiler houses.

Using investments totaling more than 140 billion yuan, the provincial government built affordable houses covering a combined floor space of 149 million sq m.

More than 20 percent of the province's population benefited from the project, which has helped more than 6 million people in 2.1 million households improve their living conditions.

The Warm Houses Project and home reconstruction, along with a number of other projects have improved not only infrastructure but also services including property management in the residential communities.

Three villages in Jilin were granted the status of national ecological villages, and 17 towns were named national ecological towns. There are also 38 nature reserves in the provinces covering altogether 2.3 million square kilometers.

While rapid urbanization has meant more people living in newer areas, farther from their workplace, robust scientific and technological development has brought about more complicated, multi-layer traffic systems.

The first subway line in Changchun is expected to be complete by 2015, and it will cross the city north to south, with 15 stops over an 18.5-kilometer route.

A white-collar employee in the city surnamed Bai said the subway would save him 100,000 yuan because he would not have to buy a car to commute to and from his work place.

zhangzhao@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/16/2012 page7)