Hot meals, warm clothes and beds are ready at shelters in Beijing, but the homeless are not coming.

Amid the knee-deep snow and freezing temperatures in Beijing, rescue officials were gearing up for the influx of homeless people and beggars, but only found a few willing to go to the shelters.

Pictures show people walking in the streets (top two), a homeless person receiving food from a shelter official on patrol (above right) and a tourist at the Tian'anmen Square in Beijing yesterday. [China Daily]

"We have seen only seven people today," said Li Yan, shelter official from Dongcheng district in Beijing. "We've prepared beds, clothes, steamed buns, instant noodles and medical care for free."

The city launched a three-day special rescue activity to help the homeless people since the temperature dropped to the lowest in four decades and the heavy snow fell.

The move is a follow-up to the central government's recently released circular on Dec 24, requesting all relevant departments nationwide to prepare for and help homeless people on the streets in the coming days of sharp temperature drops.

The 18 relief and rescue stations in Beijing have reached out to do their part to get people off the streets and provide them with life necessities.

The regular patrol - increased to three times a day - has been done in collaboration with city police, health officials and city management officials.

The tour has been further expanded to more places where the homeless people usually frequent, such as markets, bus stops and railway stations, underpasses, and bridge openings.

But the extreme weather brought difficulties in spotting homeless people and in bringing them to the shelters, an official on patrol said.

Quarter-size snowflakes were falling over the Wangfujing area, one of the country's most prominent shopping areas, as a patrol bus was searching for homeless people yesterday afternoon.

But one hour later, still no homeless people were in sight.

"The temperature is minus 6 C. The homeless may prefer staying inside somewhere," said Liu Jinjing, one of an 11-person team in Dongcheng Rescue Station. The homeless are usually seen sitting in some areas in the streets or in the underpasses when the weather is warm, Liu said.

When the bus drove on to Jinbao Street an hour later, an elderly homeless man was spotted on a two-m-wide platform outside a single-story house facing the street.

Liu approached the old man, who was of middle height and was wrapped with a ragged army coat, a pair of gray pants and black worn-out shoes.

"The snow is heavy," Liu said to the old man. "Let's go to the shelter. It's warm there."

But the man refused to talk or leave his "home" - three big boxes covered under plastic film. He would not answer questions.

"Nobody knows where the man comes from," said a woman who was sweeping the snow on the street. "He might die if he keeps sleeping here. It's too cold."

The old man is among many homeless people who, for whatever reason, are unwilling to go to the shelters. Some professional beggars believe they can earn more money if they stay outside, an official at shelter said.

"Our philosophy is that people make their own decisions whether to go to the shelters or not," Liu said.

Liu brought some instant noodles to the man, and he ate them quickly.

On the night shift, Liu and her colleagues went to the old man's place again, finding that he was stamping his feet to warm up in the freezing snow.

"He agreed to come with us," Liu said. "But he did not reveal any of his personal information. We are putting him into a warm place first."