Snowman "wearing" protective suit as salute to medical staff. Photo: screenshot of a video posted by The Paper on Sina Weibo.

After the first snow on Saturday in Yinchuan, Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, a local resident surnamed Mao spent three hours building a snowman "wearing" a protective suit, just like the medical staff fighting to fend off the unrelenting epidemic. 

The cold wave has resulted in a rapid fall in temperature by over 10 degrees Celsius in many parts of China, but medical workers were still in the line of duty amid COVID-19 flare-up. 

The residential community where Mao lives is one of the areas where medical staff are still working to help maintain strict anti-epidemic measures despite the heavy snow. 

To thank the people for protecting the city, Mao and his family decided to build a snowman "wearing" a face mask, goggles and a protective suit to salute them for their efforts. 

"We made this from noon to 3 pm. The COVID-19 resurgence has been a hard time for all, but medical workers have brought warmth and hope to us," Mao said.

Global Times