Highways closed as snowstorms hit north China

Major highways in north China's Shanxi Province have been closed due to heavy snow, local traffic authorities said Saturday.

Regional snowstorms have forced the closure of some sections of the Qinghai-Yinchuan, Taiyuan-Changzhi and Beijing-Kunming highways, said the provincial traffic police.

In neighboring Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, heavy snow has also affected road and air traffic.

Baita International Airport in the regional capital of Hohhot was closed at 9 a.m. Saturday, affecting at least 14 flights and 300 tourists.

A cold front has swept China's northern regions since Friday, bringing snowfall and big temperature drops, according to the National Meteorological Center (NMC).

From Friday to Sunday, snow will fall in parts of northwest China, north China and northeast China as the cold front moves eastward, dragging temperatures down by four to eight degrees Celsius, the NMC said.