Heavy fog blanketed Beijing and Tianjin Sunday, the first workday after the
weeklong Spring Festival holiday, forcing the closure
of the expressway linking the two major municipalities in north
China.
According to the local meteorological station, the fog first
appeared at 6:00 AM in the southern part of Beijing and spread to
Tianjin and some regions in Hebei Province, also in north China.
The traffic control department closed the Jingjintang Expressway
linking Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, Jinhu Expressway linking
Tianjin and Shanghai, Jingshen Expressway linking Beijing and
Shenyang, capital of Liaoning Province in northwest China, for
safety reasons.
Some highways in outskirt area of the two cities were also
closed, affecting intercity passenger bus operations as large
numbers of holiday makers returned to their homes or
workplaces.
The civil aviation service at local airports were not affected
by the fog and all flights at Beijing's Capital International
Airport and Tianjin's Binhai International Airport are operated as
scheduled.
A wind front from the north will move in later Sunday and
dissipate the fog on Monday, bringing temperatures up to 13 degrees
centigrade, according to the Beijing Meteorological Station.
(Xinhua News Agency February 25, 2007)