Vehicles move in the snow in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Nov. 22, 2023. Photo: Xinhua

Road traffic and aviation in northern Chinese cities are disrupted by heavy snowfall from Sunday evening, and local authorities have rushed to restore snarled traffic.

Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA) planned to operate 1,100 flights on Monday, carrying about 150,000 passengers. As of 10 am on Monday, the airport operated 188 flights and canceled 62 flights, according to the airport's official Sina Weibo account.

For the heavy snowfall, BCIA put in place emergency plans in advance, with 571 personnel on standby, arranged 142 de-icing and snow removal vehicles and tankers, stocked up 3,400 tons of de-icing and anti-icing fluids, as well as 200 tons of snow-melting agent, according to BCIA.

Road traffic in the Chinese capital was seriously affected by the snowfall, and Beijing Railway imposed speed restrictions for Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed trains, causing delayed operation of several high-speed trains on the route, according to the official Sina Weibo account of Beijing Railway.

Traffic in other cities, such as Zhengzhou and Ji'nan, was also affected by the snowfall. Both cities issued warnings for snowstorm that were lifted on Monday.

As a major transportation hub in the central China, Zhengzhou Railway Station issued notices that several trains were suspended or delayed and local authorities are working on de-icing and transportation restoration, as well as refunding tickets for affected passengers, according to the official Sina Weibo account of Zhengzhou Railway.

And, Ji'nan traffic police mobilized 1,850 officers, 730 police cars and 149 rescue and clearing vehicles to help restore road traffic on Monday morning, according to Qilu Evening News.

On Sunday evening, the Central Meteorological Observatory issued "blue" warnings for a cold spell and a snowstorm, forecasting heavy snowfall in parts of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Liaoning, Jilin and Xinjiang. It later upgraded the warning for snowstorm to "yellow" late Sunday.

By mid-day on Monday, snowfall in many regions, including Beijing, had stopped. According to the Central Meteorological Observatory, from Thursday to Sunday, large swathes of the country could be hit with another strong cold spell.