[The RCSC donation hotline is (8610) 64027620 or (8610) 65139999, and the renminbi donation account is 020 0001 0090 1441 3252. On-line donations are being accepted at www.redcross.org.cn.]

The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) had received almost 60 million yuan (about US$8.35 million) donations, RCSC sources said on Wednesday.

The donations to the red cross headquarters were 31.246 million yuan (about US$4.35 million) and 28.28 million yuan (about US$3.94 million) to local branches.

All the donations are now being sent to the snow-hit areas by all means, the sources said.

From Sunday, vice president of the society Jiang Yiman, Su Juxiang and Guo Changjiang went, respectively, to Hunan, Anhui, Guizhou and Hubei provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to distribute donations.

A voluntary Chinese traditional opera performance was also held Tuesday to raise funds for the disaster-hit areas.

The RCSC has called on the pubic to donate cash and necessary items for those in the snow-hit areas of central, east and south China, as well as the remote poverty-stricken areas.

The RCSC said in its appeal that disaster areas urgently need food, medicine, quilts, winter coats and other supplies. Cash donations would be encouraged because of limited transportation amid the snow.

The RCSC has provided eight million yuan (one million dollars) worth of donations, including food, medicine, cotton-padded tents and more than 86,300 coats and quilts to support relief work in the worst-hit areas.

The society also urged its branches to start the donation and relief work immediately. The RCSC donation hotline is (010) 64027620 or (010) 65139999, and the renminbi donation account is 020 0001 0090 1441 3252. On-line donations are being accepted at www.redcross.org.cn.

(Xinhua News Agency February 6, 2008)