Those empty cities in China may have been outfitted with district heating sourced from peripheral power plants yet to be sited (nuclear). The Chinese may be the ultimate preppers as they have tripled or more grain imports but are not suffering any domestic production issues. U.N. analyst are puzzled. Only connected need apply.
I remember years ago in the 1960s when the Chinese were still paranoid about getting into a nuclear war with the Soviet Union, that they would frequently have nuclear bomb drills where everyone would go to their designated shelters.