Meanwhile in southern China's Hainan Province, the number of stranded vehicles at the capital Haikou's three ports has hit 14-thousand. A prolonged heavy fog has disrupted ferry services on the Qiongzhou Strait, a major gateway to the island province. It is affecting tens of thousand of passengers, many of them heading home after spending their Spring Festival holiday on the island.

According to the government of Haikou, as of Thursday afternoon, over 14 thousand cars were still waiting for ferries. Some vehicles had already been stranded for over 14 hours. The Qiongzhou Strait links Hainan with Guangdong Province. Ferry services are the only way for vehicles to travel to and from the island. As a large number of people stranded are due back at work, flight tickets to big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are sold out for the next three days.