Cold wave brings snowfall, temperature drops to China's northern regions

A cold wave has blanketed areas in northern China, bringing snow to some regions and prompting the National Meteorological Center to continuously issue blue cold wave warnings on Sunday.

China has a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe weather, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

Parts of northern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China have experienced widespread snowfall and temperature drops in recent days. The railway authorities have taken measures such as suspending some passenger trains and mobilizing hundreds of workers overnight to carry out snow and ice removal operations.

At present, affected passenger trains are gradually resuming service.

Multiple regions of northwest China's Qinghai and Gansu provinces have experienced moderate to heavy snowfall from Saturday night to Sunday.

Road maintenance and traffic police departments have promptly carried out traffic management and snow removal operations to ensure smooth passage.

In some areas of Gansu's Zhangye City, snow accumulation reached up to 16 centimeters. While continuing snow removal on key road sections, local authorities have also increased patrols on bridges, culverts, and steep slopes to ensure the safety of travelers.

On Sunday morning, the Shaanxi Provincial Meteorological Bureau issued a blue snowstorm warning. From 10:00 Sunday to 10:00 Monday, most areas of northern Shaanxi, the northern part of the Guanzhong Plain, and parts of the Qinling-Bashan mountain range are expected to experience sleet or snow.

The National Meteorological Center predicts that from Sunday until Nov 28, temperatures will drop by 6 to 10 degrees Celsius across most of China.

During this period, many northern regions will experience widespread rain and snow, with Inner Mongolia and northeast region of China being the key areas for this rain and snow event.

It is expected that the heaviest snowfall will begin in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on Tuesday, with local areas in the north possibly experiencing heavy to extremely heavy snowfall.

Cold wave brings snowfall, temperature drops to China's northern regions

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The high-speed railway connecting east China's Hangzhou City of Zhejiang Province and Hong Kong was put into use on Sunday, cutting travel time between the two cities to below seven hours.   Departing from Hangzhou West Station at 15:10 BJT, the G99 train passes six stations before arriving at 21:56 BJT at West Kowloon Station in Hong Kong. Passengers only need to scan their Exit and Entry Permit at the station to finish cross-boundary inspection.   "It takes just over six hours to arrive in Hong Kong, which is not that long. I have my Hong Kong-Macao Entry-Exit Permit, and all I need is to scan it on the machine over the counter," said Jin Siyu, a traveler taking the first train.   To further facilitate travelers on the route, Hangzhou West Station now allows passengers to extend their Entry-Exit Permit with self-service machines.

"It takes around two to three minutes to finish (the extension) on this machine. But we can only provide extension services," said Chen Na, a staff member at the police station at Hangzhou West Station Hub, under the Yuhang District branch of Hangzhou City Public Security.

Railway connecting Hangzhou and Hong Kong begins operation