Freezing fog shrouded Huma County in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province as the county experienced its lowest winter temperature on Saturday, dropping to minus 43.7 degrees Celsius.
The extreme cold weather led to moisture in the air condensing, causing significantly reduced visibility. By Saturday noon, visibility gradually improved.
The local meteorological department successively issued a blue alert for cold wave, a yellow alert for thick fog, and a yellow alert for icy roads.
The local heating department has adjusted the home heating temperature to ensure residents stay warm.
The local agricultural department has implemented temperature regulation measures to ensure the stable production and supply of food during winter.
The temperature in the county slightly increased on Monday, with the lowest temperature reaching minus 35 degrees Celsius.
Freezing fog falls on northern Chinese county on its coldest day of winter
China's railway network is expected to manage more than 510 million passenger trips during the upcoming Spring Festival travel rush, according to an official on Wednesday.
At a press conference in Beijing, officials from several departments briefed the overall situation and work arrangement of the 40-day travel rush, which runs from Jan. 14 to Feb. 22 this year.
The travel rush, also known as "Chunyun", is a period of high transportation demand coinciding with China's largest annual holiday, the Spring Festival, a time where many people head home for family reunions while celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Jan 29 this year.
Zhu Wenzhong, deputy director of China State Railway Group's passenger transport department, said that the number of passengers by train will grow steadily, and is expected to exceed 510 million, with an average of 12.75 million per day, an increase of 5.5 percent from 2024.
The railway system is going to tap on the transportation potential and maximize passenger transportation capacity.
"We will focus on increasing the transport capacity in places with concentrated passenger flows during the Spring Festival travel rush, make overall arrangements for trains in less busier sections, maintain the scale of trains running at normal speeds, as well as continue opening non-profit 'slow trains' and those for rural revitalization, so as to facilitate people's travel. More than 14,000 passenger trains will be arranged daily, with the addition of around 500,000 seats every day. The seating capacity can increase by about four percent year on year, so as to meet the traveling needs of passengers to the best of our capacity," said Zhu.
The railway departments will take measures to ensure the ticketing needs of passengers, especially key groups such as university students and migrant workers. Main railway stations across the country will set up fast lanes, mother-and-baby waiting rooms and medical aid posts.
Moreover, the authorities will also prioritize the transportation of coal used for power generation and heating, along with key supplies like daily necessities, grains and other farm produce, as well as fertilizers.
Inspection and maintenance on key rail equipment have also been conducted in advance, so as to ensure the orderly and smooth railway operation during the Spring Festival travel rush.
China’s railway to handle 510 million passenger trips in 2025 Spring Festival travel rush
