Beijing's 2019 first snowfall comes during the Spring Festival holiday

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The wait for the year's first snowfall in Beijing finally came to an end on Wednesday amid celebrations for the Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year.

At about 9:00 a.m. BJT (1:00 am GMT), light snow started to fall in suburban districts of Beijing, such as Yanqing and Huairou. As of 10:00 a.m., more than 10 weather stations in the city had observed snow, a criterion for the municipal observatory to declare the arrival of the first snow.

Snow-covered street in Beijing, China, February 7, 2019. /VCG Photo

Snowy weather seen in Beijing on February 7, 2019. /VCG Photo

Snow-covered Great Wall in Huairou district, Beijing. /VCG Photo

Snow-covered village in Huairou district, Beijing. /VCG Photo

This winter's snow arrived particularly late - only five days away from becoming the latest snow on record, which happened in the winter of 1983-84.

Beijing has never had a winter without snow since the Chinese capital city started keeping weather data in 1951, according to Beijing News.

Video edited by Chen Shi

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency