How do I prepare myself for winter in Nanjing, China ?

The coldest months are from December to next January, the temperature could be as low as 19 – 20 F. You are suggested to prepare down jacket, sweater and boots for it.

There are two aspects. Inside and outside. Inside your apartment you will probably have a combo unit providing A/C in the summer and heat in the winter. These are usually not very effective, primarily because there is no insulation - all the heat escapes. Portable space heaters are available and not expensive but do add significantly to your electric bill. Chinese bundle up like Eskimos even in their apartment! Buy thick winter quilts for your bed, wear thick winter slippers, and buy space heaters, Also, in some apartments only the shower water is heated, so you may need to heat water to wash your face, brush your teeth, or wash the dishes.

For outside, you will need winter [aka thermal] underwear [in the West we called the longjohns], thick socks, gloves, scarf, hat, winter pants, sweaters, and a thick winter coat, A good pair of winter boots is also recommended. All these are available locally unless your body size is large [or larger than most Chinese!]. One trick is to wear layers of clothes [for example, rather than just wear a thick sweater, wear a long-sleeve t-shirt, heavy shirt, and a sweater] - that way you can peel off layers to suit the subway.store/classroom.