Yeah, but I happen to find Minneapolis pretty damn cold...

Bear in mind the heating in some of China's public buildings are not always turned on, not installed or faulty. I went to Xian once in January, it was -10, and I was visiting the terracotta warriors. But nope there was no heating there and I was freezing my butt off. Anyway, having been there once myself, it's going to take a great deal of convincing for me to accept the notion that Northeast China is not cold in winter...