Extreme snow to hit parts of China during Spring Festival travel rush

From Wednesday to Monday ahead of the Spring Festival, China's central and eastern regions will see a large range of persistent rain and snow, while at least 10 provinces will experience severe blizzards, according to the National Meteorology Center (NMC).

It is expected that the duration of the rainfall and snowfall will be the longest this winter, and the impact is forecast to be the most widespread.

The period of rain and snow is set to coincide with the peak of the Chunyun, or Spring Festival travel rush in China, and the areas seriously affected by the extreme weather are in provinces where the country's central transportation hubs are located. 

As of 8 a.m. on Monday, due to snow and icy roads, a total of 11 road sections and 44 toll stations were closed in eight provinces and region, including Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Henan, Hubei and Guangdong provinces, according to the Highway Monitoring and Response Center of the Ministry of Transport.

To ensure the safety of passengers and the quality of services during the travel rush, transportation departments in multiple regions are taking various measures.

The transportation department in Qingyang, northwest China's Gansu Province, has opened customized passenger transportation services. Passengers only need to book tickets on the Mini Program on the WeChat app. The program provides multi-station pick-up and drop-off services after the passenger sets up the ride time, locations or other extra information. The fare is three yuan ($0.42) cheaper than usual.

In response to the increase in charging demand for self-driving new energy vehicles this year, the transportation department in southeast China's Fujian Province has prepared mobile charging vehicles in some service areas on the basis of existing charging stations. Drivers can check the traffic conditions and locations of charging stations in real time.