Oh yes. In those parts of China south of the Yangzi River houses traditionally have no heating. The same in Taiwan. The only thing you can do is covering yourself with a lot of blankets in bed and wear thick cloth during the colder periods of the year. When I was in Kathmandu during December and January (this year), it was the same: no heating in my hotel room. I knew it before and was prepared to cope with it.

In places with cold winters an office/classroom may have some paid for heating but your home may not. This means that even if you get some sort of a heater in your dorm or appartment, you may feel cold and under the pressure to spend more money than you expect during the cold spells. Utilities in nations such as China where winters in provinces such as Hunan may, and currently are, quite cold, and so they may go over 150 dollars per month.