sudden blizzard, according to reports by Chinese media.
Heavy snowfall swept Northern parts of China over the weekend, forcing traffic to a standstill, cancelling flights, and killing three Japanese tourists who were stranded overnight on the Great Wall. Affected areas included Beijing, Hebei and Shanxi.
According to the China Meteorological Administration, a vicious cold front was to continue hitting most parts of the capital on Sunday night, as well as the central and eastern parts of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and northern and western parts of Hebei province.
Heavy snows still continue in parts of Hebei, Liaoning and Jilin Provinces as well as the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
More than 300 Beijing armed police officers were dispatched to the Beijing-Tibet Expressway near Badaling on Sunday as over 1,000 vehicles were stuck on the road. In some places, the snow was 80 cm (31½ inches) deep, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Geng Suzhi, an officer from Hebei’s transportation department, told the Global Times that the expressways in Zhangjiakou and Chengde have been closed.
A section of the Beijing-Tibet Expressway in Inner Mongolia was still suspended on Sunday evening.
Hebei province released a regional red alert, forecasting snow in the cities of Zhangjiakou, Chengde and Baoding from late Sunday night to Monday.
Rain, sleet and snow have been forecast until Tuesday in most parts of North China, as well as regions along the Yellow and Huaihe rivers, and some parts of Northeast China, according to the China Meteorological Administration.
As a consequence of the cold front, many cities in North China have decided to switch on their heating systems earlier than usual.
The Beijing Municipal Commission of City Administration and Environment fired up its boilers on Sunday instead of waiting until Nov 15, as it usually does. And Shenyang, Liaoning province, and Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, started theirs last week.
The snow also led to higher prices for food, especially vegetables, according to data from the Xinfadi agricultural product trading center in Beijing.
The article includes a photo of Armed police officers in Beijing shoveling snow on the Beijing-Tibet Expressway.
That’s right – no snowplow – they were shoveling the snow by hand.
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90882/8004517.html http://www.eturbonews.com/32071/three-japanese-tourists-dead-after-being-stranded-overnight-grea See photos:
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90882/8004105.html http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20121105b1.html
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August 19, 2013, 07:56:59 PM
