A cold front would sweep central and east China over the next three days, bringing gusty winds and temperature drops, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said Saturday.

Photo taken on Jan. 6, 2011 shows the ice-covered wintersweet in a botanical garden in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province. China's National Meteorological Center (NMC) is continuing its second highest level alert for parts of southern China battling freezing temperatures and icy rain, as more bad weather is expected. The NMC Thursday forecast freezing rain, which quickly turns into ice on the ground, for central and northern Guizhou Province, western Hunan Province and the northeastern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. [Qin Gang/Xinhua]

Affected by the cold spell, temperatures would drop by four to eight degrees Celsius in central and east China, and even by 10 degrees in some areas of the region, the NMC said in a statement posted on its website.

South China, which is battling freezing temperatures and icy rain, will continue to experience the inclement weather over the next three days, the NMC warned.

Some parts of Guizhou, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces would be hit by heavy snow while west Yunnan, south Hunan and northeast Guangdong would see icy rain over the next three days, the statement said.